I am an occasional poet. Unexpectedly, stanzas flow from my brain, to my hand, to the keyboard. I took a poetry class recently that helped me create these two pieces that I want to share with you. Both reflect stories written in my memoir. The first poem of Fulani Woman helped to write the second…Read more »

Why is the value of an object not fully appreciated until its gone? When I returned from my three years in the Peace Corps, I had many artifacts and memorabilia. But with retirement and downsizing in my future, I began to unload some of my treasures that I had kept for almost 50 years. One…Read more »

It’s one thing for your friends, family, and colleagues to like your book. But it is another when the critics/experts select it for an award. I didn’t actually understand what I was applying for in April of 2020, just a few days after my book was published. I thought it was a local reviewing Award…Read more »

News Release 23-Apr-2021 / University of Oxford https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/uoo-mvb042221.php Malaria vaccine becomes first to achieve WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have today reported findings from a Phase IIb trial of a candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, which demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77% over 12-months of follow-up. When I arrived in…Read more »

April is my month; my birth month. It is always special to me. But this one was extra special. I not only celebrated the big seven zero with a some fanfare, but also was the guest author at another Zoom book club (more about that in my next blog). In addition, this was the month…Read more »

My essay, How Will I Know?, was accepted in the Whatcom Reads Anthology of stories and poetry entitled Reconciliation. It was published this week. I will be reading a 3 minute excerpt of the essay on 2/21/21 at my local bookstore, Village Books. This was rewritten from the chapter entitled “Reconciliation” in my memoir, In…Read more »

My one-room school teacher, Velma read my book, told her PEO book club members about it, and then procured 12 of my books for her club. On February 10th, 2021 I was invited as the guest author. Kally, Janie and Velma led a robust discussion and Q&A with several of their members living in Arizona.…Read more »

“…the purity and vulnerability of this incredibly earnest child…” is a quote from Christopher Davenport, author of The Tin Can Crucible. His description of little Susan in her memoir is telling. Yet, this was only the beginning. Susan recently discovered this 1954 photo on a View Master slide in a box of old pictures. Here…Read more »

My alma mater, San Francisco State University, just published their Fall/Winter 2020 Magazine and I’m now in the who’s who listing for those who graduated in the ’70s. SFSU gave me the best nursing education and I am proud to be one of its alumna.