Now that my fourth book has been published, I have figured out what I’m doing as I write. None too soon!
I am capturing the biographies, the memoirs, of people whose stories would likely be lost in our busy and complex world.
Jackie, with her traumatic brain injury from the execution-style shooting, could not write her story alone.
DarRen and I co-wrote our overlapping stories. As a “lifer,” he did not have access to the world of publishers in the ways I did. Our co-writing enriched both of our life experiences.
Tera could not write her story of the end of her life, the hoarding and the cancer. With help from her sister, I captured her tale.
Nancy’s story includes her own words in ribald and poignant ways as she used her attitude to love life and ultimately deal with the disease [dermatomyositis] that took her too soon.
I have, and am, working with three writers, helping with their memoirs. A fascinating, challenging, and intimate process as we move from dream to publication.
I hold a Ph.D. in adult learning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then a BA and an MA in English (Luther College and Winona State University). In recent years, I worked at Madison College and then taught at Edgewood College, both in Madison, WI until retirement in August 2018.
