Homestead Harmony

Storybook 2

Eleven-year-old Stella Reese loves learning from the land, working alongside family and friends, and finding meaning in everyday discoveries on her family’s homestead. But when her hands become cold, numb, and pale more quickly than other people’s, Stella must learn to understand the clues her own body is giving her. A doctor’s visit finally provides an answer: Primary Raynaud’s.

As Stella learns to recognize her early warning signs and make practical adjustments, an ordinary late-summer day unfolds into one filled with discovery. A ribbon of smoke leads Stella and her friends to a carefully managed prescribed burn, where they learn that protecting the land sometimes requires actions that are not immediately easy to understand. Back at the homestead, beet peelings become natural dye for warm wool mittens, garden-grown food brings family and friends together, and a community harvest festival ends beneath a sky filled with familiar stars.

Through each experience, Stella discovers that understanding begins with careful observation, thoughtful questions, and a willingness to adapt. Her diagnosis does not change who she is or keep her from participating in the life she loves. It simply helps her care for herself in a new way.

Homestead Harmony, the second storybook in the Sunny Stella® Series, is a warm middle-grade story about friendship, stewardship, resourcefulness, inclusion, and learning to listen ~ to the land, to others, and to yourself.

Includes a foreword by Lynn Wunderman, founder and chairman of the Raynaud’s Association®

Why I Wrote Homestead Harmony

Homestead Harmony grew from my desire to bring greater awareness to primary Raynaud’s, especially how it can affect a child’s everyday life in ways others may not immediately see or understand. At the same time, I wanted Stella’s story to remain full of curiosity, family, nature, and hands-on learning. Throughout the book, educational sub-stories introduce readers to experiences such as prescribed burns, natural dyeing, food-to-table connections, and exploring the night sky, allowing learning to unfold naturally within the story. My hope is that readers come away with a better understanding of primary Raynaud’s while also discovering new ways to observe, question, and learn from the world around them.

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