Renda Hanson, Author

Stories of healing, nature, resilience, and the sacred moments that shape a life.

Welcome. I’m glad you’re here.

This is the quiet corner of my world where I write about healing, nature, resilience, and the sacred moments that shape a life.
Whether you come for the shoreline stillness, the stories of survival, the threads of faith, or the honest reflections—I hope you find something here that meets you right where you are.

Featured Book Section

Featured Book Section

Where the Hummingbirds Landed — The Sea Knew My Name

A memoir of scars, survival, and sacred moments.

A story shaped by red clay roads, North Dakota skies, hummingbirds, healing, and the quiet places where trauma and faith collide.
This memoir follows my journey through childhood, single motherhood, nursing, domestic abuse, addiction, grief, breast cancer, and the small miracles that saved my life.

Where the Hummingbirds Landed - The Sea Knew My Name Where the Hummingbirds Landed - The Sea Knew My Name
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A sepia-toned drawing of a young girl with long hair standing outdoors near a lake, holding a jar. There is an overturned tin can with noodles spilling out on the ground near her bare feet.
A woman with short gray hair wearing glasses, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket, standing in front of a mirror.

About Renda

I’m a nurse with over three decades of experience, a hospice professional, a death doula, a photographer, and a woman continually shaped by nature and the sacredness of quiet spaces.
My writing lives at the intersection of resilience, spirituality, and the small holy moments hidden inside everyday life.

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A rustic wooden barn with a red roof beside a small waterfall and pond, surrounded by leafless trees under a blue sky.
A river flows through a forest with trees in fall colors, reflected in the water with mountains in the background.

Photography

Little glimpses of the world that shaped my stories…More to come.

Photo taken from a yellow kayak on a calm river, surrounded by trees with Spanish moss under a clear blue sky.
Sunset over the ocean with a cloudy sky, reflecting on the water and a sandy beach in the foreground.
Sunset with a silhouette of an adult and a child holding hands on a hill, trees in the foreground, large orange sun sinking into the horizon.
Sunset over a residential pond with boats, houses, and green lawn in foreground.
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A rocky riverbank with stacked rocks, surrounded by a river, dense autumn-colored trees, and mountains in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
Night-time cityscape of a waterfront with illuminated buildings and reflections on the water, including a glass-enclosed skywalk bridge at the top of the image.

Journal

Reflections, moments of clarity, and the stories behind the writing.
These short essays, musings, and glimpses into my world offer a closer look at the experiences, memories, and small wonders that continue to shape my journey.

Sunset over a residential area with a grassy foreground, sports fields, and houses, with clouds in the sky.

A beginning in stillness.

A reflection on why healing often begins in the quiet moments.
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Sunset over the ocean with colorful sky reflected on wet sandy beach, with an inspiring quote about nature and the soul.

When the earth whispers back.

How nature continues to speak in ways that guide, ground, and restore.

A sunset over a grassy landscape with a small body of water reflecting the colorful sky, partly cloudy with orange, purple, and yellow hues.

The moments that teach us.

Small stories from the edges of everyday life that changed everything.