About the Book
Everyone has a story to tell. Most are lucky if they find one person who will listen. This book shares over 40 years of personal diaries that give birth to the unusual story of my life. When I was three years old, my mother wrote a goodbye note and disappeared without a trace. Her four small children were placed in the custody of the State of New York. Separated from our older brother and sister, my sister and I grew up fleeing from child protective service workers who only saw a glimpse of the conditions in which our grandmother was raising us after she illegally took us from the orphanage. This book tells my story based on a lifetime of my old diaries that relive the abuse and pain suffered at the hands of an unbridled, angry woman; the slow death of a turbulent marriage; the birth and blessings of two wonderful sons; and the lifelong search for my lost siblings. It describes the agonizing search for my mother - and the pivotal moment when I found her, almost forty years later! This autobiography is not about the ancestry of the Brantley family, the Mascunana family, or the Cash family. It is about innocence and power. It is about weakness and strength. It is about those who helped create the paths I took. I must write this so that my children will know the journey that I traveled before they were born, so my brothers and sisters will know who I am, and so my mother will understand why I can forgive her. It is a gift to myself and to you, the reader. It serves as my legacy for the future! Put on your soft slippers and walk with me a while.
About the Author: Linda's writing career began when she was a small child, hiding in the cold attic to escape her grandmother's savage beatings. Surrounded by scampering mice and long-legged spiders, she scribbled tiny words into her little red diary that had been a Christmas present from relatives who had no idea about the suffering and enforced hardships of her isolated childhood in the wild backwoods of Missouri. As the years went by, the growing pile of assorted diaries became her lifelink to keep her sane in a world she did not understand. The faded time-worn red diary and its sister memoirs are the foundation for Linda's first published book,
Dusty Angels and Old Diaries. As a teenager, Linda worked nights to put herself through LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) school. Soon thereafter Linda married and had two sons, Billy and Philip. Always juggling several jobs and an entrepreneur at heart, Linda was a newspaper correspondent for the
Herald Palladium in St. Joseph, Michigan, and owner of and photographer for a successful photography business, while also working as a nurse and attending college for her RN degree. While still a young mother, she won an elected position and served as the township clerk in her town of Berrien Springs, Michigan, for two terms. She has volunteered as a CPR Instructor for the American Red Cross, and has volunteered as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). As a ham-radio operator, she has volunteered as a severe weather spotter. She is a former member of the of the Berrien Springs, Michigan Optimist Club, and has served in many leadership positions in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Linda's first published work was a booklet titled,
Missing to be used as a guide for those searching for missing people. She has won numerous poetry and photography awards, including the
Who's Who in Poetry Award for her poem, "A Moment to Care." As a Licensed Practical Nurse, Linda uses her ability to empathize with others as the inspiration to record many of her experiences as a dedicated, caring professional nurse. She continues to write, and she keeps a running blog on the Internet at dustyangels.blogspot.com. A second book, called,
Attic Secrets is in progress. A website of her photography is at photosbylinda.com. Her hobbies include ham radio, photography, playing the piano and flute, sewing, education and travel with her husband. She and Jim live in the Midwest with two faithful dogs and one sleepy black cat. You may e-mail Linda at lindasbook@usa.com.
