Author Dr. Lois Roelofs will focus on how journaling can impact nurses’ lives, both as healthcare professionals and personally, in the address “Telling Our Stories” at Hope College on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. in room 1000 of the A. Paul Schaap Science Center.

The public is invited.  Admission is free.

Roelofs, who is the author of “Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor’s Journey of Faith and Self,” is a graduate of the Blodgett Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Grand Rapids and retired from the faculty of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois.  She previously spoke at Hope in 2011.

A reception with refreshments will precede the address beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Roelofs will be available to sign copies of her book during the reception.

In “Caring Lessons,” Roelofs describes herself as a rebellious minister's daughter, reluctant nurse, restless mom, perpetual student and, eventually, fun-loving teacher of mental health nursing.  Over a 40-year period, she held positions in eight places, ranging from hospitals to steel mills, and taught in four schools of nursing, including Prairie State College, Valparaiso University, St. Xavier University and Trinity.

In addition to her diploma in nursing from Blodgett Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Roelofs earned a B.H.S. in nursing practice from Governors State University in University Park, Ill.; and an M.S. in psychiatric nursing and a Ph.D. in nursing science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Taking to heart the importance of being a life-long learner, an idea that she drilled into students, she also completed three years at the University of Chicago Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults.

The A. Paul Schaap Science Center is located at 35 E. 12th St., at 12th Street and College Avenue.