Her keynotes and workshops are high-involvement, inspiring, thought-provoking, and transformative.

Samples frequently speaks on the remarkable wisdom and creativity of our aging bodies. Her new memoir and manifesto on this topic, Body Odyssey: Lessons from the Bones and Belly, will be published in October 2005. This book salutes our bodies as a vibrant, story-filled resource in our older years. Samples invites her readers and her audiences to go beyond the necessary concern for fitness to recognize the body as a treasured archive of our experience and as a surprising vehicle for self-discovery, renewal, and creative expression.

Samples also speaks on family caregiving, motivating and guiding caregivers to better self-care and peace of mind. She is also the author of three books for caregivers: Daily Comforts for Caregivers, Self-Care for Caregivers: A Twelve Step Approach, and Comfort and Be Comforted: Reflections for Caregivers.

Samples has master's degrees in human development and creative writing, and has experience working in health care, social services, education, and ministry. She was the editor of The Phoenix, a wellness publication, for eight years, and she has written widely on health, aging, and human behavior. Samples has served on the adjunct faculty of Saint Mary's University and Metropolitan State University in Minnesota.

Samples has recently given keynotes and workshops for the South Carolina Conference on Aging; Annual Northern Plains Conference on Aging and Disability; Easter Seals and South Dakota State University conference on caregiving; Department of Human Services caregiving retreat in the Virgin Islands; Vital Aging Summit in Minnesota; and Area Agency on Aging conferences in Iowa, Colorado, and Kentucky; and other states. She has also presented her innovative approaches to aging and caregiving at the NCOA/ASA Conference, ARCH Respite Conference, International Conference on Family Care, and International Case Management Conference, and numerous other professional events.

Caregiving, Aging, Health, Spirituality, religion, Women, Education Faith & Religion,