Welcome to the very first issue of The Anchor.
If you're reading this, thank you for being here at the beginning.
The truth is, I didn't start writing because I had a plan. I started writing because I needed somewhere to put everything I couldn't control.
For a year and a half, my husband searched for work. We celebrated interviews, held our breath through promising opportunities, and endured disappointment after disappointment. Last fall, after making it through twelve interviews for one position, to make it to the final two, only to receive another rejection, I realized I needed somewhere to put all the worry, frustration, and uncertainty that had quietly built over those months.
Writing became that place.
What began as a memoir about faith, family, and resilience soon became something much larger. I'd always enjoyed genealogy and had spent decades casually tracing my family's roots, but last fall I began digging deeper than ever before. The deeper I dug, the more incredible stories I discovered, stories of courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and ordinary people whose lives deserve to be remembered. Those are the stories I hope to share with you.
The past few months have been a whirlwind. Between launching my author website, celebrating my son's wedding after months of planning, continuing to refine my memoir, and beginning to share the historical fiction series that grew out of this journey, life has been wonderfully full.
I'm grateful you've decided to come along for the journey.
Now, let's look back at everything that happened in June.