Submitted by the Lopez Island Library

Do you wake up in the middle night and find yourself unable to fall back to sleep? Diane Gillespie, educational psychologist and insomnia sufferer, understands.

In the book “Stories for Getting Back to Sleep,” she uses her knowledge and understanding of stories to craft sleep scenarios designed to help people fall back to sleep in the middle of the night.

The stories are set in relaxing places conducive to sleep: cozy mountain cabins; luxurious spas; a tropical beach; an overstuffed chair in a Victorian bed and breakfast. In each story, the character secures her surroundings. Through the process of attending to peaceful details in the setting, readers relax their bodies, let worries float away and sink deeper and deeper into stillness—until they are sound asleep.

Readers are encouraged to remember the sequence of events so that in darkness they can crawl back into bed, pull up their covers, imagine themselves in the stories, and go back to sleep.

Gillespie, daughter-in-law of Millie and Harold Gillespie, has visited Lopez Island since 1972. She is emerita professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program at the University of Washington, Bothell, and volunteer for the nonprofit Tostan, which works in communities across West Africa.

Gillespie will read from her book at the Lopez Library fireside on Thursday, June 28, at 7 p.m. Bring your favorite pillow and comfiest clothes. Tea and treats are provided by the Friends of the Lopez Island Library. Book sales will benefit the nonprofit Tostan.