Meet Shoreline Arts Alliance member, Jane Peterson - Educator & Author

“We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

 Will be to arrive where we started

 And know the place for the first time.”

             — T. S. Eliot

The above quote has been with me for much of my life. For years, it stirred my curiosity; only recently have I chosen to live by it. In many ways, I have come full circle, returning to where I began. It is true that this place is different from the one I left—or perhaps I am the one who has changed. More likely, it is a combination of both.

I have spent every summer of my life along the Connecticut shoreline and later lived for eleven years in Essex, upriver. After more than thirty years teaching in northern Virginia, I have returned to spend my first full year overlooking Long Island Sound, watching the geese gather along the shore. Although there are houses nearby, most sit vacant for much of the year. Some days I have to remind myself that I am the only person living among the homes I can see. Years ago, I would have felt isolated. Now, I find the quiet deeply peaceful. Perhaps that change reflects an inner confidence gained over the years. Whatever the reason, I am grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with this place and become part of a larger community of like-minded art enthusiasts.

During my years as a middle school teacher, I often drew on the misadventures of my own teenage years to illustrate elements of effective writing. One favorite example was the story of my surprise fourteenth birthday party, which I used to demonstrate how realistic dialogue can build rapport and move a story forward. Over time, I realized I had accumulated enough of these experiences to bring them together in a small book titled The Trouble with Trouble.

When I began writing, I knew exactly how the story would open—with that surprise birthday party—but I had no idea how it would end. To my surprise, once I started, the story seemed to write itself. Individual memories naturally wove together into a sixty-four-page booklet that concludes with a message for teenagers. Many of the stories center on boys whose harmless attempts at fun unexpectedly lead them into trouble. As I wrote, I kept returning to a quote by Ann Landers: “The trouble with trouble is that it always starts out as fun.” Having raised two sons, I found myself thinking of that quote more often than I might have liked.

The epilogue concludes:

“So, in conclusion, the real trouble with trouble is not that it starts out as fun, but that it forces you to make a decision about trouble. In the end, the real trouble with trouble is that the decision of what to do about it is up to you.”

I hope these stories do not exist in isolation. Instead, I hope they become a catalyst for conversation, connection, and collaboration—a way of bringing people together to share stories, reflect on their own experiences, and perhaps even discover a little wisdom through laughter.

Feel free to contact me at: janewpete@gmail.com