Writer
Memoir of Resilience and Hope
“It’s seven in the morning and I’m running late for school. I’m fifteen and in ninth grade. I’m the editor of the school newspaper and president of the Latin Club and the Library Pages. Mrs. Peterson, the newspaper faculty advisor, meets with her staff early on Tuesday mornings. I have to be there. The Wilsonian, our paper, is to receive a Stephen Crane Memorial Certificate in recognition of the high-quality journalism demonstrated in our series on tuberculosis prevention. I’ll accept the award on behalf of our school.”
(Seeing Eye Girl, page 10)
I’ve been a storyteller and writer for as long as I can remember, with my first “formal” writing appearing in The Wilsonian, my junior high newspaper. I loved newspapers and for a long time envisioned myself as a journalist. As an educator/college professor, I wrote mainly for professional educator and teacher audiences. It was well into my retirement before I turned to creative non-fiction to write the story of my early life.
The result: “Seeing Eye Girl: A Memoir of Madness, Resilience, and Hope.” It’s really a case study of one child’s life, growing up in an abusive home, and trying to survive and thrive. It’s a story that repeats itself in many ways over time and of course, the story is still with us today. Childhood trauma is a problem we as a society must acknowledge and address. Not all kids survive such situations without the scars that influence them over their adult years.
My story is also a story of HOPE and of all those many teachers who were there for me—who encouraged and nurtured me, who gave me a chance at life, who thought this little kid from the projects could amount to something and, in so many words, let me know that.
Here you will learn about books I’ve written, as will as recent articles focusing on the themes most relevant to me now: childhood trauma and adults living with untreated trauma; the important role of trusted adult mentors, especially in the lives of vulnerable children; the roles of resilience and hope in surviving trauma; the importance of mental health resources; and the important roles of schools, especially public schools, in the lives of children.
Book Clubs are great ways for groups of friends and neighbors to come together to discuss the books they’ve read. Over the last few years, I’ve met with over fifty book clubs (mostly in person, but also via Zoom) to discuss “Seeing Eye Girl.”
Click on the cover images to learn more about the books.
“Like the ebb and flow of the tide that full moon night, Momma’s rage waxes and wanes over the many hours of the evening. Just when I think she’s exhausted, her volatile power erupts once more then drains away. Her force, driven by deep and unknown currents, erodes my sand fortress, the mound that is me.”
From Seeing Eye Girl Chapter 29: Wrestling with God