Spinning in Circles and Learning From Myself by Tsara Shelton

Author: Tsara Shelton
Published: 16 May 2018 - Updated: 3 Jun 2023

Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Related Publications

Synopsis: Spinning in Circles and Learning From Myself - Candid book by Tsara Shelton offers a unique and intimate narrative on parenting, autism, and growing up.

Tsara Shelton is the oldest of eight children - six were adopted, and four came into the home with several diagnosis such as autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Introduction

Spinning in Circles and Learning From Myself - Candid book by Tsara Shelton offers a unique and intimate narrative on parenting, autism, and growing up.

Main Content

"Storytellers are powerful and we are all storytellers," suggests Tsara Shelton, author of the book Spinning in Circles And Learning From Myself: A Collection of Stories that Slowly Grow Up. In this book the author has collected mostly true stories that she's written and published over the past ten years. With depth, candor, and a positive passion she explores issues such as poverty, prejudice, autism, and sexual abuse, searching for answers in the ways they've touched her life.

Tsara Shelton is the oldest of eight children - six were adopted, and four came into the home with several diagnosis such as autism and fetal alcohol syndrome. She is also the daughter of renowned international brain change expert Dr. Lynette Louise, aka The Brain Broad, a single mom who brought up her brood with creativity (they traveled North America learning geography and performing inspirational comedy in prisons for almost a year) and a powerful belief in their abilities.

Having grown up in a home overflowing with out of the box characters and a ferocious love for family, the author was in a unique position to observe culture and society. Tsara was born with a typical brain and typical tendencies that were consistently and beautifully challenged by a not so typical family and lifestyle.

"The stories we tell-in our minds or to our friends or in social media updates-create the world we live in. So I encourage myself, my children, and my friends to tell our stories with intention," says the author, adding, "and I suggest we start now. Because the truth is, we are always telling our story, so finding a voice or narrative we're comfortable with needs to happen sooner, not later."

Storytelling with Intention

The book is an example of storytelling with intention - in Tsara's case, the intention to discover empathy, answers, and understanding. But it is also a brave and revealing book, which the author admits is her favorite style for both writing and reading.

In the story Being Me Tsara talks about being molested as a twelve year old girl, while in the story Because My Mom Was Autistic, Our Answer Was Autism she explores the mistakes and assumptions often made by children with autistic parents.

A popular online article Dear Poverty: It's Not You, It's Me is the author's break up letter to poverty while her short story The Writer and The Mechanic offers a lovely glimpse into a comfortable and strange marriage. These stories offer thoughts on society while giving readers a gift that is also deeply personal. "When I'm writing I feel like I disappear into more of me," admits the author.

Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself, Tsara's first book, was published through Archway Publishing at the end of March, 2015. Since then it has slowly gathered a grateful and vocal following.

"While this book is a powerful support tool for the parent/sibling/acquaintance of someone with autism, it's also a gentle reminder of how to be a good human," wrote Alanna Rusnak, author of The Church in the Wildwood and publisher of the literary magazine Blank Spaces.

"My book isn't specifically about autism or parenting," suggests Tsara, "It is, however, a collection of stories grown from the fertile and organic thinking soil that can be found where the two come together."

Spinning in Circles and Learning from Myself is available through the author's website, Archway Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble (online) and many other places where books are sold.

Author Credentials: Tsara Shelton, author of Spinning in Circles and Learning From Myself, is a contributing editor to Disabled World. She is also the oldest daughter of international brain change and behavior expert Dr. Lynette Louise ("The Brain Broad"). Explore Tsara's complete biography for comprehensive insights into her background, expertise, and accomplishments.