A longtime Leland summer resident has published a book aimed at "helping readers become aware of the power of their stories."

Soul Sailing: How Life Stories Transform the Voyage, written by Jay Littell, can be found at Leelanau Books in Leland.

Soul Sailing has been described as a unique, interactive workbook that illustrates the importance of stories and their power to transform one’s voyage through life. The book incorporates questions and story-telling techniques that help readers heal, helping bring more balance in their lives.

Littell’s father, George, first came to Leland as a boy of three in 1901. His parents, from 1910 to 1952, hand-built a cottage in the Indiana Woods section of town. His parents built a retirement home in 1975.

Jay Littell spent much of his childhood in the county.

“As a boy of 10, I remember getting stuck out on Grand Traverse Bay in a boat, and having to wait for another (boat) to come out — in a developing storm — and tow us back into Northport Harbor,” he said.

The family cottage was sold, in the early 1950s, to provide a nest-egg for his grandmother in later years.

His uncle Edmund Littell wrote the history of Leelanau County, One Hundred Years in Leelanau. Edmund Littell’s wife Joyce was one the early shopkeepers on Leland’s Main Street. His father was also a writer whose works of poetry are included in an unpublished collection entitled Out of the Blue, which he wrote riding trains back and forth to work.
George Littell died in 1997 at the age of 99.

Jay Littell will be at Leelanau Books signing copies of Soul Sailing on Friday, July 20.