Writing as an outlet and a passion

“I felt I was dealt this hand for a reason and decided to share, and the story came together after that.”

That’s how Terri Stephens-Higgins sees her journey through multiple health issues to becoming a children’s author.

In 2021, Stephens-Higgins was diagnosed with melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer that accounts for a majority of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. However, only 1% of skin cancers diagnoses are melanoma.

Working as Southwestern Community College’s director of marketing and enrollment management, Stephens-Higgins wasn’t along in her diagnosis on campus, despite the general rarity of the cancer.

“We have leaned on each other constantly the past few years through our fear, our scans, waiting on test results (good and bad!) and all of the unknowns — we’ve both always been there for each other as we navigate our illnesses together,” SWCC Director of TRIO Talent Search Erica Frey wrote regarding her March 2021 melanoma diagnosis in a

Facebook post. “We can tell each other things that that we just can’t say to others. I tell her constantly that I could not do this without her, and I mean that with every fiber of my being.”

However, skin cancer wasn’t the end of Stephens-Higgins difficulties. In 2024, she learned she had several brain tumors. It was around this time Stephens-Higgins began her author journey.

Writing

“Writing has always been an outlet for me, even as a child. I think I probably got the idea of writing something to help people before I got the idea for Bella being the character herself,” Stephens-Higgins said.

While she went into writing as both an outlet for her emotions and to help others, Stephens-Higgins found it became sort of an occupational therapy for her after brain surgery.

“Of course, when you head for brain surgery, you don’t know what you’re going to look like after the surgery and how your life will change and how the surgery itself will affect you,” Higgins-Stephens said. “I think it was good for my healing process because I challenged myself. It was almost like I was assigning myself occupational therapy.

“My handwriting was just a bit different. I could tell my brain was not forming the letters the way it was, but the minute I noticed that, I just made myself do it more often to get my brain back in 100% focused and back in shape.”

As the director of marketing, Stephens-Higgins has plenty of experience writing, just for a different audience. While Stephens-Higgins ended up writing a children’s book, the message can apply to all ages.

“When you go through health struggles of any kind, it makes you very emotional, and it’s very hard to talk about,” Stephens-Higgins said. “I see how [children] are struggling, and I listen to all of the educators in our communities talk about the very dire situations that our kids are seeing each and every day. And they need all of us to talk about these things just so that they can work their way through and become stronger and more educated.”

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, “Bella Bean on Blueberry Lane: The Puppy Wonder” is described as “a tender storyline, introducing and following Bella, the wonder puppy, as she learns real-life lessons and figures out how to conquer the roughest days with help from those around her. Life is short, and therefore, humans and puppies alike must remember to communicate and reach out for help no matter the topics and no matter their ages.”

Bella Bean is based off Stephens-Higgins’s Havanese dog named Nala, though both the author’s and Nala’s personalities together form Bella Bean.

“I write very much from my own personal experience, and I think in a way my dog and me became one as we began to tell this story. When you go through health struggles of any kind, it makes you very emotional and it’s very hard to talk about. I think in a way it made it easier for myself to relay this information as well.”

Spreading the story

However, publishing a children’s book is more than simply sitting down and writing. Once a manuscript was finished, Stephens-Higgins had to find a company who was willing to take a chance on a debut author.

“I found Christian Faith Publishing and began the relationship, and then they actually worked with me. I got to pick the artistic style of the illustrations and have large involvement in the formation of the characters. Something that I would like to do in the future is specifically team up with an individual whom I love their artistic style and work together on a project.”

Christian Faith Publishing is a smaller, Pennsylvania-based company, so Stephens-Higgins did a lot of the marketing herself. While she has plenty of experience doing so for the college, it can feel scary trying to share one’s personal story.

“I don’t have fear of reaching out now of contacting people where before I might’ve been more timid on my approach,” Stephens-Higgins said. “Now it was very important to me to get this message out and to find somebody to help me put this message in print because I didn’t know how long I was going to be in this world. And this was something I definitely wanted to accomplish before my health challenges got too big for me to not be able to complete it.”

“Bella Bean” was published in July 22, 2025, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Stephens-Higgins’ first brain surgery. It didn’t take long after publishing for the community to rally around her in support. Various locally owned stores sell copies of her book, some even hosting book signings. Stephens-Higgins also donated copies to a number of local libraries, sometimes holding children’s events there, too.

However, word truly began to spread with the donation of the book to every area second grader. In fall 2025, Stephens-Higgins doctor and friend Dr. Karen Krogstad purchased enough copies of the book to donate one to every second grader in Creston, Diagonal and Mount Ayr. Since then, other Southwest Iowa schools have been added to the list, most recently Central Decatur on March 5 for Read Across America Week.

“She initially had the idea and so we were brainstorming some thoughts of how we could raise that money,” Krogstad said. “I realized a lot of these second graders are kids that I’ve delivered, kids that I see as patients, kids in the community, and if I could provide that for them and even touch a small number of kids that I wanted to do that and be a part of it.”

Stephens-Higgins visited each school with the donation. This meant not only did she get to explain more of her story to the kids, she also got to see their reactions firsthand.

“My favorite part of the journey is watching kids’ reactions to the book,” Stephens-Higgins said. “When a child first gets a book handed to them, they flip through and then I love to watch where they land and what pages they spend most of their time on. The interaction with kids has been unbelievable.”

During these visits, Stephens-Higgins often compares Dr. Krogstad to a doctor in the book, Dr. Doggie, who helps Bella Bean. Krogstad said the impact the story has on children’s opinions of going to the doctor is huge.

“I think the number one thing that I say over and over is, ‘you deserve to be happy and there are people that can help you,’” Krogstad said. “Terri’s book talks about the big dogs in your life that are trusted adults. And so for kids to know who those big dogs are that they can go to and get help, and that is not scary to go to the doctor.”

The story isn’t over

In early March, Stephens-Higgins’ family and friends celebrated her author journey, providing a cake and poster boasting more than 1,000 copies of “Bella Bean” sold in 2025.

However, Stephens-Higgins is not one to rest on her laurels. The manuscript for Bella Bean’s next adventure has been completed and is now under review.

“I would love to see those in print as well. There are other characters and other topics, and I think that’s kind of exciting too,” Stephens-Higgins said. “My author journey right now, it’s very focused on mental and physical brain health, but even ‘Bella Bean’ number two has a completely different topic. There will be new characters in that book, which will be fun to add to the Bella Bean universe.”

And though she enjoys her time writing and sharing her work, Stephens-Higgins is proud to be a Spartan.

“I still very much love my career at the college and the interaction with the coworkers every day is wonderful. The whole author part of my story, I think just kind of gives me a break from the job aspect of your adult life,” Stephens-Higgins said. “I go to work and I am very professional and do my job and enjoy being creative here as well, but then I’m lucky because I also have an outlet where it doesn’t even feel like work. I’m writing for pleasure and I’m now meeting all of these people and going on all these visits and getting to touch a whole different world and a whole different career at the same time.”

Finding time to work on her writing can be hard when also juggling a full-time job, friends and family and health struggles. However, Stephens-Higgins has found a way to make it work.

“What’s helped me most is setting aside certain hours of the day for each. I’ve always had a job where I have to get back to people fast because the people I work with and who write about us are on deadlines, but for your own sanity, you really have to set aside certain times,” Stephens-Higgins said. “When you’re moonlighting and then doing a day job, I think you definitely have to be an energetic individual because you have to be able to multitask, which I think following my brain surgeries, it was very valuable for me to have to force my brain to multitask too.”

It’s this energy and passion despite the hardships that keeps Stephens-Higgins going, and makes others pay attention.

“I’m in absolute awe of her,” Frey wrote. “She reminds me daily what a warrior looks like—and I couldn’t be more honored to walk this journey beside her. She gives me strength and a sense of peace just being in her presence.”

For those looking to take a similar path as Stephens-Higgins, she suggests focusing on one’s passions and writing from the heart.

“I think if you write about something you’re passionate about, then you don’t mind living it. And I think when you live it and readers can tell that you are 100% committed to sharing the message that you have written about, I think it makes you more credible,” Stephens-Higgins said. “Also just understanding how much work it is and how much commitment it takes. You don’t just write it one day and then get to relax. It is a new journey that’s starting in your life if you turn that direction.”

Those interested in grabbing a copy for themselves can shop locally at The Latest Edition and Three Little Birds in Creston, Country Blossoms in Mount Ayr, Backgrounds Coffee Bar & Boutique in Corning and Quest Haven Books in Winterset. Copies can also be picked up online at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

“Thank you to everyone for being alongside me in my health journey, as well as my author journey,” Stephens-Higgins said. “With my job itself, I meet and work with new people every single day, and I feel like everyone has just embraced what we’ll call the new Terri, Terri after two brain surgeries, and that has made the journey all the more worthwhile.”