Writing From the Heart
Faith and family guide author Sally Hanser’s pen
Central to Sanibel Islander Sally Hanser’s life are faith and family. Both values came to full fruition with the completion of her touching children’s book, A Christmas Mouse in a Christmas House.
Although written specifically for wee ones, the book speaks to all—or that is certainly Sally’s fond hope. She dedicated the work, published in 2017, to “all creatures great and small who think they have nothing to give, only to discover love is enough.”
Sally’s route to faith came, paradoxically, in the aftermath of personal tragedy. Although having had a “fortunate” childhood in a loving family, she lost her father at age 16. “There was a hole in my soul, and Dad’s death was a big part of it,” she says. “I was never fully happy with possessions, education, friends or jobs. I needed to learn where real happiness comes from.”
She confesses that “deep conversion experiences” shaped and rooted her belief, ultimately changing her life. “I found something beyond myself, something greater to believe in. Now I am blessed with contentment,” she says. “I experience love and am able to give it. I no longer have a hole in my soul.”
“I found something beyond myself, something greater to believe in. Now I am blessed with contentment,” she says. “I experience love and am able to give it. I no longer have a hole in my soul.” —Sally Hanser
Sally’s faith was sorely tested in 2018 by a catastrophic medical emergency.
Sally’s sense of family derives from being mother to four, grandmother to nine and great-grandmother to two. Her husband of 57 years, Al, beams with pride about her unique instincts for children and their needs. “Sally is a wonderful mother and role model for our kids,” he says. “She is kind, generous, sensitive and selfless—and she listens. Our children are now adults who have met with great success.”
Al Hanser is president of the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company and the couple are longtime Sanibel residents, having lived on the island for nearly 20 years. Sally spent time on the island as a child, and she and Al routinely vacationed here with their own children. “Sanibel seemed so freeing to me. On the island, my inside and my outside go together,” she says. “I love that Sanibel is really a small town, and that here we can just be ourselves, no pretensions.”
She loves all aspects of island living: “I love that two-thirds of the island is sanctuary. I love that there are no street lights. I love that there are no buildings over three stories. But especially I love just walking the beach and communing with wildlife. My breathing calms when I reach the beach, especially at sunset.”
The couple are parishioners at Sanibel’s St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, where Sally has participated in Bible study groups and in the church’s healing ministry. St. Michael’s
rector, the Rev. Dr. Ellen Sloan, takes pleasure in watching Sally’s faith at work. “Sally’s foundational belief in Christ informs everything she does. Her comments about her life in Christ are quiet, purposeful and thoughtful. People are inspired by her,” Sloan says. “She inspires me.”
Sally’s faith was sorely tested in 2018 by a catastrophic medical emergency. “My aorta ruptured. I could actually feel it rip,” she says. “The surgeons had to take my heart out of my body and place a protective sleeve over my aorta. Then they glued and wired me back together.”
This devastating experience actually strengthened Sally’s spiritual conviction. “The doctors told me I shouldn’t be alive,” she says. “That I am here today tells me that there is still much more for me to do.”
The inspiration for A Christmas Mouse in a Christmas House came to Sally unexpectedly. “While working in my garden, the story just downloaded into my brain,” she says. “I ran inside and wrote it all out as quickly as I could. It took about 45 minutes.”
Nurturing the draft into final form required a little more time. “I was clueless about publishing. I had never written anything before, other than some lines of poetry,” she says, “but friends guided me through the process straight to completion.”
After publication, she read her story to the Sunday school class at St. Michael’s, and then gave autographed copies of
Sally hopes that children will hear in this story the meaning of gifts and giving.
the book to her listeners. Sally hopes that children will hear in this story the meaning of gifts and giving. “There are creative and meaningful ways to give to others. To me, that’s the message behind Christ and Christmas,” she says.
The Hansers make a practice of sharing her giving message. On their property sits a little prayer porch, which is available to friends and neighbors as a respite—for prayer, for meditation or for just sitting with nature. “It’s our gift to anyone who wishes it,” Sally says, adding, “Life is its own precious gift, and friends are a gift of the spirit.”
Jan Holly has written extensively about Sanibel and Captiva islands, and is a regular contributor to TOTI Media.