Grant and I invited the Stephensons to our house for dinner in November 1984. At the table, John told us that Appalachian Heritage was being moved from Alice Lloyd College to Berea, sponsored under the college umbrella. He said he was looking for just the right person to be the editor.
My heart jumped into my throat and I could hardly get out the words: “I’d give my eyeteeth to have that job.”
“You’re the perfect person!” John exclaimed. “I’ve read your books. You know Appalachia better than most people I could think of for the job.”
Just like that the decision was made (and it gave me something to live for after Grant left for Oregon).
I MET TOM SAWYER IN THE SUMMER OF 1987. That meeting, and my working with him on two books, changed my life for the better. Moving to Berea was also a positive development in my life and the lives of my sons. My son Bruce was born in the Berea College Hospital. I got a job with the Council of the Southern Mountains as associate editor of Mountain Life & Work. I was accepted as a degree candidate at Berea College. On my first visit to the college library, I was too scared even to think about checking out a book; later, I was employed as a full-time staff member at that same library and worked in the Special Collections and Archives Department for twenty-four years. My first book, Appalachian Women, was published as a result of my work at Berea. I successfully bridged the psychological gap between the mountain community of Stoney Fork and the academic town of Berea.
As I end this memoir, it is with good feelings about ongoing projects. I continue with the writing class in my home. A book study group also meets at my house each Tuesday evening. The New Opportunity School for Women has a writers’ group that meets monthly. I have served as mentor to the group and have witnessed exciting growth and opportunities for those women.
Looking back on my life has shined a spotlight on my naïveté, hidden motives, deep anger, remorse, repentance, and revelation. Telling my story has brought me pain, tears, dreams, and remembered grief. It has also enhanced the gratitude I feel for my heritage. I believe that my life has been unique, and that I have had rare opportunities and gifts.
There are many good books still to be read, and more for me to write.
My Appalachia Page 26