Local author Jennifer Svendsen presents "Stranger to Myself"

Gunbarrel resident and author, Jennifer Svendsen, will be signing copies of her new novel, "Stranger to Myself" at The Boulder Bookstore on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

"Stranger to Myself" is set, in part, in Niwot, Colorado, weventbrite.com/e/jennifer-svendsen-stranger-to-myself-tickets-1112943336479" target="_blank">here the main character, a fictional Niwot local named Rebekah Lark, in response to chronic pain finds her life suddenly switched with that of someone in New York. As she attempts to reconcile her sudden change in life, she comes back to Niwot to talk to her family, who no longer recognize her.

Svendsen has lived in Colorado for 31 years, 26 of which were in Boulder County, near or around Niwot. Not only has she been a part of the Niwot community for several years, she also worked as a reporter for the Left Hand Valley Courier writing "Left Hand Laurels" for roughly four years. In addition, she has also written for literary journals, magazines, and blogs.

"As far as why I set it in Niwot - I lived on Meadowlake Road in Niwot for nine years with my daughters Liz and Bella," Svendsen said. "Currently, I live in Gunbarrel but Niwot will always be close to my heart because it is the place that I raised my daughters."

Some of her favorite places in Niwot can also be seen in the book, such as the Niwot Inn, and a small horse stable off of 49th Street. She wrote the first 13 chapters of what eventually became the novel "Stranger to Myself" as her thesis for her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado Boulder. The chapters won the Jovanovich Imaginative Writing Award for best thesis in 2004. However, she only chose to submit the novel after she finished her master's degree in counseling.

"The year after graduating from CU, I was the assistant writing teacher at Bixby School for a year." Svendsen recalled about her writing process for the novel, "That year I would get up at 5:30 AM to meditate and write before waking my kids and getting us all to school. I felt a great affinity with the characters, as though they were real people whom I would wake up to greet. I felt driven and guided by the characters."

Svendsen explained, "There are times in life that can feel overwhelming - like you are alone and no one understands your perspective or quest." "You may even feel like you are an outsider and you don't belong. I hoped that people would feel less alone by reading about Rebekah's circumstances with the understanding that feeling unseen and lonely is a very human thing that we all go through at different times in our lives."

In addition to her writing, she has been in private practice for 12 years helping people with complex post traumatic stress disorder and further specializes in Brainspotting therapy.

Tickets are $5 plus a small processing fee and include a $5 coupon toward the purchase of the book. Tickets can be purchased here or visit eventbrite.com.