I am ready to retire for the fifth time. What? Yes, I’ve already “retired” four times. The first was taking early retirement at age fifty-five from my demanding corporate position and transitioning to my own business as an organization consultant and leadership coach. Transitions are challenging. Still I had major projects to pursue. I didn’t think of […]
Book Review: “The Road to Bittersweet,” by Donna Everhart
Book review by Bev Scott The Road to Bittersweet: In 1940, the Tuckasegee River in the Appalachian Mountains overflows its banks and forces Wallis Ann Stamper and her family to flee in the middle of the night. Wallis Ann becomes separated from her parents, younger brother and older sister, Laci, a mute and musically gifted […]
Sharing the Roots of “Sarah’s Secret”
My grandfather’s hidden life intrigued me. I began a search to uncover the roots of our family secrets. When I couldn’t find answers to all the questions about my grandfather in my genealogy research, the idea of writing the story as fiction began to take hold. Sarah’s Secret is the result. I also wrote a free e-book, Searching […]
Book Review: “Sold on a Monday” by Kristina McMorris
Book Reviewed by Bev Scott Sold on a Monday is inspired by a photograph of children with the sign “2 Children for Sale” from 1948 which the author Kristina McMorris stumbled upon. The story challenges journalistic integrity, tugs at your heartstrings and offers a sweet love story. Ellis, an aspiring newspaper reporter in the early […]
National Read a Book Day
Today is “National Read a Book Day.” Read for pleasure and relish the written word. Most of us are busy working, looking at our phones, exercising, watching our usual TV programs. We put off reading until vacation or “when I have time.” Many of us have a stack of books beside our bed but we […]
Book Review: “The Search for My Abandoned Grandmother” by Mary Ames Mitchell
Reviewed by Bev Scott Mary Ames Mitchell describes in detail her search for her English grandmother’s grave or burial site. The author’s mother, Betty May, last saw her mother, Eileen Maude, when she was seven. In 1932 Betty May boarded a train in London with her brother to spend the summer holidays with her father in […]
“What About Your Mother’s Family?”
“What about your mother’s family?” “…Oliver was a man who knew his own mind. He had two daughters (one was my mother) who were never allowed to attend school. Oliver was sure that they would learn too many things at school that weren’t included in the curriculum. Mrs. Moody was a former school teacher, so […]
Book Review: “Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers” by Sara Zeff Geber
Reviewed by Bev Scott Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: Gerontologist Harry “Rick” Moody introduces this book. He reminds us all that we are all “solo agers” if we live long enough. Further, he notes that “Successful Solo Agers have learned how to age alone and they have lessons we all need to learn.” Sara Zeff […]
Book Review: “Prairie Fires – The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder” by Caroline Fraser
Reviewed by Bev Scott Reading and preparing this review of Prairie Fires has been a long-term endeavor. Caroline Fraser has done a brilliant work describing the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in the historical context of the time. She won both a Pulitzer and the National Book Critics Award. She begins the historical detail before Laura Ingalls was born in 1867 […]
History vs. Genealogy vs. Historical Fiction
History vs. Genealogy is about what matters, and to whom. And how does the historical fiction writer use them? History and genealogy…are two radically divergent views on the past. The first says “This matters.” The second says, “This matters to me.” John Sedgwick in the New York Times Historians such as John Sedgwick tend to scoff at […]
