Panama City, Port St. Joe Library Events
For the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with wonderful writers at the Panama City and Port St. Joe public libraries. How much fun it is to hear the family stories of local heroes and...
View ArticleFamily Secrets Uncovered
I love teaching a workshop called Memoir to Fiction–one of the tricky things that happens when you are writing about your family is that you sometimes uncover truths that no one wants to talk about....
View ArticleThank you, Tony Simmons
Tony posted this in the News Herald yesterday. I just love that he posted the picture of my mom! Thank you, sweet friend.
View ArticleRaped, Pregnant, Alone
Washington County, Florida It’s a blistering hot day in August, 1898. Four months pregnant, my great grandmother, Minnie Clara Bertha Brock must find a way to survive. Her parents are dead, her land...
View Article“He held her over a well, poised to drop her in”
My grandmother, Esther Lee Corley Stewart, was more terrified of water than she was of lightning. I found out why when her fear became my pre-adolescent shame. One hot summer day when I was ten, a...
View ArticleIn Praise of Friendship
My grandmother did not smile for pictures. I’m not sure why. She smiled at us, her grandchildren in real life, except for when there were thunderstorms. Then, she would purse her lips and herd us all...
View Article“I want to come home, Mama” Lumber-camp Slavery
“I want to come home, Mama,” his letter said. Dated April, 1916, this poignant letter from my grandfather to his bride, and the mother of their infant son, was not from the battlefield of World War...
View ArticleThe mysterious writing on the closet wall
I met my cousin, Sandy, nearly a decade ago. She has become my inspiration–the blood of our great-grandmother is strong in her. Sandy is good and kind, and she is relentless in her pursuit of the truth...
View ArticleThe Lamp
My new-found cousin, Sandy Moore, arrived at my house one sunny spring afternoon. Sandy, relentless in her search for the truth about our family history, came across a query I had left on a...
View ArticleVictims Coming Forward
I heard Anita Hill interviewed yesterday. It has been twenty-five years since she and other women testified to the sexual harassment perpetrated by Clarence Thomas. Even after her testimony, Thomas was...
View ArticleIf she had known what her life would be, would she have had the courage to...
(Continued from August 9) “My mother told me a story she told me never to repeatl. But I am eighty years old, and I can’t leave this world without telling you the truth about your...
View ArticleIllegitimate
Illegitimate–the stigma my sweet grandmother carried with her for her entire life. Her shame fueled my quest. For nearly two decades, I searched for the truth about the circumstances surrounding her...
View ArticleCourting in 1915 Leads to 71 Year Marriage
Courting in 1915 As a mother of five children—three girls and two boys—I have sent them off in their finest to proms and dances, heard their heartfelt concerns over relationships both good and bad, and...
View ArticleMama’s Green Thumb
Do you have a green thumb? I wish I did! My mother, my grandmother, and her mother before her all loved growing beautiful flowers. Who doesn’t love the sunny face of a bright, yellow sunflower? Or...
View ArticleHot Summers in the Florida Panhandle, 1915
I love walking Iris, my 65 lb lab mix, even in the Panama City summertime heat, mainly because I look forward to the swim we take afterwards. I wear shorts, a tank top and Chacos. My grandmother and...
View ArticleBeing Forced to Give Up a Child: Musings on the Story Behind Annie Laura’s...
It’s mother’s nightmare, being forcibly separated from a child. In ancient Rome, a few days after birth the child’s father was given the responsibility determining the child’s...
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A Lesson in Generosity
And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching...
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Happily Ever After
Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 My good friend looked at the little wooden sign sitting in my living...
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Fighting the Blues
“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.” D.H. Lawrence Feeling blue can sometimes be...
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