Nancy E. Turner

About Nancy E.

• In high school, she says she had dreamy notions about getting married, living in a house with a white picket fence, and living happily ever after.
• After her family struggled financially for several years, she decided to start job hunting, but found that her lack of a college degree limited her opportunities.
• Made a vow to herself that, if she was ever in a position to afford it, she would go to college—the day her husband got promoted, she enrolled in community college.
• Starting college at 40 years old was a terrifying experience for her; she constantly feared that she would fail or get kicked out, but says that she was determined not to quit.
• Had always had an interest in art and music, specifically the piano—had aspirations of pursuing music professionally.
• A serious medical diagnosis derailed her plans for pursuing music, but opened her up to a new passion: writing.
• Says she found a healing power in the process of writing; “The more I wrote, the healthier I felt.”
• Believes that having her ability to play the piano taken away from her was the best thing that could have happened—encourages people to surrender expectations and be open to opportunities.