Author Faith Richardson is a confirmed, non-recovering 'bookaholic'. Early favorites were the Enid Blyten 'Adventure' Series, Trixie Beldon and Cherry Ames, the Nesbit stories, and, later, Madeleine L'Engle's and L. M. Montgomery's novels. Today, her bedside reading has returned again and again to the works of authors who have influenced her most profoundly: stories by C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and George Macdonald. As a young author, she was privileged to be mentored by Madeleine L'Engle (author of Newbery Award winner, A Wrinkle in Time) and to assist her in Writer's Workshops at Regent College, Vancouver School of Theology, and Oxford College. Faith continues to love story and words and, as Luci Shaw has stated, 'the way words rub together.' Spinning stories and writing children's lit remains a passion!

Along with books, pets have always filled her life: horses and ponies, calves, a donkey, goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, birds, fish, turtles, and guinea pigs . . . a few of those species now make their home at Fox Song Farm. Many become happily entwined in Faith's stories as well as well as have a strong role within her health and wellness practice.

Faith's doctorate is in nursing practice (DNP). Her doctoral research was in gerontology and Positive Aging. As a semi-retired Registered nurse, with a practice background as a Family Nurse Practitioner and RN in hospital, clinic, hospice, and community health, she has provided care for a wide variety of people of all ages, including those who have been less-than-satisfied with only a prescription focus. In her educational, writing, and coaching practice, Faith calls on a variety of therapeutic modalities, including ecotherapy, HeartMath, applied kinesiology, and Equine-facilitated Wellness to help people re-kindle joy, purpose, and creativity. Faith's practice and writing grows out of a tradition of the healing arts that embraces story and celebrates the nature connection.

"Stories reach to the deepest part of us and ground us in place and time; stories are how we make meaning of our lives and our connection with the world around us. Is it any wonder that healing can occur through the telling of our story, our life?"

Click to see titles by Faith

Hint: On the Fox Song Books Titles page, click on the book cover graphic to open a PDF of each title's first chapter!

Brief Bio ...

Dr. Faith Richardson, DNP RN, a clinician with an academic and research background, has developed and taught courses in undergraduate and graduate programs (Nursing, Counseling Psychology), including advanced practice (CNS) gerontology. Her doctoral dissertation research involved an Action Research project with the aim of increasing voice in practice with older adults in Assisted Living and Residential Care. Academic research and scholarship focused on promoting positive aging. Dr. Richardson has taught pharmacology to nursing students of various levels and is the Canadian author of Mosby's Nursing Drug Reference (Elsevier).

Faith also has an MCS/MA from Regent College, Vancouver, with a focus on spirituality that can best be described as an interdisciplinary approach to deep joy, connection with soul and spirit, and authentic well-being. The novel The Peacock's Stone, was written as part of her Master's thesis. The Peacock's Stone, published as a YA novel, went on to win the 2005 Eric Hoffer Award.

Dr. Richardson is now a semi-retired nurse and ecotherapist (Equine-facilitated wellness, PSYCH-KTM, HeartMathTM, Life Coach). Today, most of her professional energy goes into writing. On a limited basis, Faith continues to offer communication, creativity and health/wellness workshops, and, whenever possible, offers private tutoring to nursing students.

Faith and Janna in the nursing classroom several years ago.

Author of several YA novels and other fictional work, Faith is available for public readings and writer-in-residence sessions (K-12). She is a member of CANSCAIP, SCBWI, and TWUC.

As a member of TWUC, Faith is available for public bookings through funded efforts of The Writer's Union of Canada (TWUC) and National Public Readings Program.

Membership profiles:

CANSCAIP https://www.canscaip.org/Sys/PublicProfile/70390095/1160952

SCBWI https://www.scbwi.org/members/faith.richardson

TWUC: https://www.writersunion.ca/member/faith-richardson-fay-s-lapka

The Fox Song herd: Puck, Arael, Tivio and Penelope

Faith & Tivio

Wellbeing and working with animals.

We not only live in the understanding that nature sustains and supports our wellbeing, Kindle Health at Fox Song Farm celebrates our connection with Creation and fellow-creatures. We learn many lessons about wellness through nature, and in particular through socially-structured groups, such as horse herds.

'Herd' manifests as collaborative mutuality with present-moment living. There is joy in living fully aligned and connected--both within self and among our family and friends, colleagues and community. In equine-guided work, we begin to see ourselves mirrored in our herd partners and experience deeper empathy with self and others.

'Wellness' within our selves means we look to the connected mutuality of body and soul, heart and mind in the four pillars of wellness: purpose, balance, congruence, sustainability (Stinson, 2013).

Connecting to our external herd through collaborative communication, we weave in the threads of appreciation, altruism, and presence-ing. The four wellness pillars (purpose, balance, congruence, sustainability) manifest-in-the-moment, promoting well-being that embodies connection.

Animals are appreciated as sentient partners in life and work. We seek to provide them with an environment that promotes their own well-being and we include them respectfully in our work, striving to move toward mutuality in decision-making.

To that end, the land, trees, waters are thoughtfully conserved and honored as guardians, teachers and sustainers of the Earth and all of us.