Author and landscape designer Terry Hershey’s cedar-shake house sits like an island surrounded not by water but by lush gardens blooming with old English roses below a canopy of Douglas firs. It’s an oasis of calm, a visual treat for the eye, a balm for the soul and a perfect example of sanctuary, the title and subject of Hershey’s latest book, “Sanctuary: Creating a Space for Grace in Your Life.”

Hershey knows firsthand about the frenetic pace of the 21st century. An inspirational speaker, Hershey crisscrosses the country giving talks to healthcare and social workers, educators and church congregations. He also listens to their struggles with the stress of modern life.

“How do we nourish and replenish ourselves?” Hershey said. “We need reminders to let our soul catch up with our body. We need to create space for that. It’s what this book is about.”

Hershey first found sanctuary when he moved to Vashon from Orange County 27 years ago. A practicing minister, Hershey instinctively knew the pace of life in Southern California held no nourishment for him. Once on Vashon, he fell in love with gardening. He found his sanctuary.

“I breath differently here,” Hershey said. “Everything is calibrated differently as it is in sanctuary. So I live in my garden. Gardens are visceral; they involve all the senses and literally ground us.”

Hershey, who has designed over 60 Vashon gardens, finds most people don’t know how to name what they seek. So he asks clients to pick five adjectives. Words like calm and tranquil translate into curvy paths that weave through enclosed areas. Bold or stunning demand something else.

Hershey uses the same idea when he helps others create sanctuary. He calls the way into a sanctuary a portal, explaining the notion with surprising examples.

“Portals put you in a different frame of mind,” Hershey said. “A cat can be a portal or a tea ceremony. We leave something behind and enter (a portal) to do something else. A ferry is a portal.”

With a tip of his hat to Vashon, Hershey said he thinks residents — as stewards of their homes and gardens and of the island — understand the notion of sanctuary and the purpose it holds for us. Hershey writes: “Sanctuary is a dose of grace. Sanctuary space bestows upon us gifts — stillness, gladness, calm, mystery, delight and peacefulness. … Sanctuary begins when we stop and embrace what is already here….”

Hershey will read at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 25, at the Vashon Bookshop.