About: Joan

It’s all about relationships. Our relationships with God, with ourselves, and with others, breathe life into everything we do.

That’s how Joan thinks, anyway. She absolutely loves to build and maintain healthy relationships. She comes alive when she can encourage others in their journey toward wholeness.

That didn’t come easy, though. A single mother at age 15, Joan faced the honor and challenge of parenting before most would even think of it. She read all she could on parenting, determined to be the best she could be for her daughter. This challenge proved to be one of her greatest blessings, for it was in her need that she met and began relationship with God, whom she respectfully calls the Power of Love. It was this Love that she couldn’t help but follow on a journey of transformative healing from the inside, out.

Balancing care for her spirit, soul and body, Joan devoted many years of her life to recovery from various forms of childhood abuse and from dysfunctional family rules and lifestyles. She trained in addictions ministry, learning to help others to recover from their wounded pasts, writing curriculum, teaching and leading support groups.

Later in life, Joan returned to school and became an occupational therapist. She specialized in pediatric and family services, working directly with many children and families, and indirectly, to improve systems of support for families who have children with special health care needs, and to train and equip others in this field.

As a woman, her heart is for healthy family relationships. A wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, step-grandmother and also a great-grandmother, Joan spends much of her time supporting her family in their interests, running errands, providing childcare, cooking, cleaning and managing a sizable to-do list! She loves finding time to read, write, refurbish old furniture and revitalize a cozy spot in her home or garden.

Her personal style is warm, open and authentic. Love, kindness and respect are highly valued, along with a spicy zest for spontaneity, tongue-in-cheek humor and a passionate marriage! Real life is balanced by supportive relationships with God, family, friends, and, of course, oneself.

She is a grateful survivor and overcomer, by the Power of Love, and she hopes to inspire others toward the deep inner journey of health that can transform both internal and external life.

Her first published work is a guided journal for inner healing, My Road to Recovery. Stay tuned, though, for there are many more in the works! She is finishing up her first novel, The Bent Tree Path, expected summer 2023, and her first Children’s book (which will help all those picky eaters out there), Cheesie Louisie and Nicky the Picky, by the fall of 23. Follow her website at http://www.joantwarren.com and her author page on Amazon and Goodreads for more!

17 responses »

  1. Hello, not sure how best to contact you, but this you published some years ago. Mickey Evan … thank you.
    https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjoantwarren.com%2F2014%2F08%2F24%2Fhas-anybody%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2uSbvlPlQRK32860J4GXmI14F-NswVWNnaomye6gs_hISkAR0jgcS_wNg&h=AT0IiWKBli-rXVaa6S-tLKMiNoFGie5lpuWx-JltYUN82uTIDH8wiDhbwNMWPhnyf_dOs6kkTsJLLRBdk6M-6m__1vjE3r99feeV5lY5ZXhLH2vOpCjuI3gjRs4G7wZ9AXWqiVYvYUu9G7RsWA&__tn__=-UKH-R&c%5B0%5D=AT0Ce8zQwrqJ958f1qp0M6GOjQ0PbLu9_fJinrwhwkcRUqCwUNr916UeOtiaJxm2iikUQH-up-xAEnJpxETPO299U6o_A4xF7hoZS3wmWnV0-3NeYgo5uRy9CUepN82tupaPRiUdeB2O0MKv5VygqS7v

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  4. Hello newest Spikey! I know, a bit corny, eh, but that’s the term that has come to stick for those folk who are part of the clan known to be followers of Uncle Spike 🙂

    Thank you… I really appreciate that as I for one, know how many interesting and entertaining blogs are out there.

    My aim is to deliver an eclectic offering of posts, from my ‘point n shoot’ attempts at basic photography, to the sharing of my travel adventures over the decades, as well as day to day happenings here on the farm. Oh, plus a few observations on life as I see it, thrown in for good measure.

    My promise to you is not to be overbearing, just a couple of posts a day, maybe 3 at weekends if I have something special to share. But if you are at a loose end one day, maybe you’ll enjoy trawling through some of my older stuff too. I have added plenty of categories to help in said digging process.

    Thanks again and hope you have a great day…

    UNCLE SPIKE

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  5. Hi, Joan! Nice to “meet” you, and thank you so much for the award nomination! My mom is a speech therapist who has spent a lot of time working in conjunction with occupational therapists, so it’s nice to come across one here in the blogging world. I look forward to reading!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy! There are several OT’s I’ve run across blogging. Most blog more specifically about OT, while for me, writing is an aside; a way to leave work alone for a while. Of course, I never really separate from the OT part of me, but it isn’t my main focus here. There will be some OT topics here and there on Heart to Heart, and, on my recipe blog, impromptucuisine.wordpress.com there is a picky eater section. Anyway, take your time with the award, let me know if/when you post the responses to my questions, okay?

      Like

      Reply ↓

  6. I have just nominated your blog for The Liebster Award, which is an award that helps to draw attention to newer blogs with fewer than 200 followers. It is an opportunity for those bloggers to make themselves & their blogs better known to the blogging community. You can find out more & read my nominations here …

    The Liebster Award


    Please feel free to decline if you are too busy or awards are just not your thing. People accept or decline for many reasons & the decision is entirely personal. I will, of course, be very happy if you accept, mainly because I’m dying to read your answers to the questions I’ve posed 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  9. Hi, you just visited my blog, and I was just about to reply but I thought I would pop in here for a quick visit but then got engrossed with reading, but I shall go back and answer soon. You are doing all the right things here and I really like your ideas that you are using to help others as well as you and your family. I totally agree that family is important to the health of society, even just some sense of belonging to a loving unit can be a great help. I never really grew up in that atmosphere, but about 10 years ago I went to volunteer to work with people with learning disabilities with a charity called L’Arche who have communities around the world. And apart from the obvious gifts of being with such wonderful people, the main thing for me was the family aspect and actually sitting round a table to eat meals, such a simple thing yet so beneficial. And of course creativity is a must surely for everyone, yet not enough people try. And anyone with a love for gardening is a good soul indeed, in my opinion. I’m just new to thus blog stuff but I’ve met so many wonderful people already and I think I will give up on trying to write shorter comments, I just get carried away as you can see. Thank you for visiting my blog, you seem like a familiar soul for some reason, the Universe keeps on working overtime this week for me, which is all good.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Thank you for your kind words, Mark. I am new to blogging also. I will look up L’Arche to learn more about it, and stay up with your blog, where you have such a unique way of expressing your heart.

      Like

      Reply ↓

I would love to hear your responses and appreciate lively discussion! Please be patient as your comment comes to me first for approval before appearing below. Thank you!