Andrea Von Botefuhr - Children's Books, Art
Multi-talented Bainbridge Island resident Andrea von Botefuhr practices holistic medicine, writes poetry, and paints in oil and watercolor. In 2008 she authored her first book The Land of Smaerd which was one of the winners of that year's Moonbeam Children's Book awards. Smaerd (dreams spelled backwards) is a place where dreams live while they are waiting to come true. The story was originally written by von Botefuhr's sister Angela Russell, when she was ten years old. Von Botefuhr brought the idea back to life 40 years later and while her sister acted as artistic director and publisher for the book, von Botefuhr worked on finetuning the story. The Land of Smaerd and the belief that no dream is too big to be impossible seems to appeal to both children and adults. In an interview with the Bainbridge Island Review, von Botefuhr says that she had passed the book around to colleagues and patrons at the Harbour Public House where she works as a bartender. Even though the pub's crowd was not exactly her intended audience, the book somehow resonated and several adults - men included - finished reading in tears.
