About Jayne

I’m Jayne (a.k.a. Mom, Grandmama, and Mrs. Bowers), and I chose Gossip and Solitude as the name of this blog because of something I read in Nancy Peacock’s A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning & Life: “I think there are two things writers love more than anything else. One is solitude and the other is gossip.”

Writing about oneself is a bit awkward so I’m just using an excerpt from a blog post.  After a misprint branded me as a religious writer, I countered with, “I’m a spiritual person who loves life and its mysteries. I’m fascinated by people and their stories, and I’m gung-ho about helping my students succeed. I’m also a beach bum, an avid reader, an exercise enthusiast (daily walker), and a mother who fiercely loves her children and grandchildren. I believe in the nurturing and teaching powers of Mother Nature and savor the moments when I can hear birds singing, brooks babbling, and breezes rustling.”

WARNING: If the following paragraph comes across as bragging, please don’t interpret it as such. I’ve just been told over and over and over again that in order to get people to respect your writing, you have to have some street creds.

My teaching experience stretches across three decades and two community colleges. A psychology instructor, my areas of concentration are (in addition to the intro course) Human Growth and Development and Human Relations. My writing experience includes Human Relations in Industry (Jayne P. Crolley), Musings of a Missionary Mom, Eve’s Sisters, Crossing the Bridge: Succeeding in a Community College and Beyond,  three blogs, and articles in Guideposts, the Ensign, the Liahona, and The Petigru Review.

Follow me on Twitter (@jaynepbowers) and check out my other blogs: http://marlajayne.wordpress.com (an all-purpose one), http://psychcentral.wordpress.com (one devoted to psychology students), and http://jaynepbowers.wordpress.com  (a new blog created in the hope of getting some dialogue going about student success). Please take a look and leave a comment.