What’s Next? What are Your Thoughts?
Seven generations, six with deep roots in one Iowa county, or with strong ties to it, since 1855–from pioneers to the keeper of their stories. Of the six, the author is the only one who never lived among the rolling hills of Guthrie County, Iowa, but it’s where her beloved Grandma Leora was born, where she lived to the age of 97.
The men these women married will make cameo appearances.
What do we inherit from our grandmothers besides mtDNA? Heirlooms? Character? Shadows of the past? The legacy of a small log church in Indiana was nurtured through my motherline and woven into the blessing and mystery of my own inheritance, that of lives lived with faith in the God, family, community, and the hope of heaven.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. – Deuteronomy 32:7
Yes, I’m working on another book, feeling my way into it. Above, so far, is a back cover copy WIP (work in progress). Is it compelling enough? No title yet. What do you think?
Motherline: A Legacy of Seven Generations
Guthrie County: Motherline Songs, Seven Generations
Meadowlark Songs: Consider the Years of a Motherline
The Legacy of *Rocky Fork: Motherline Musings
*Rocky Fork is a Baptist church from the first generation, before any of them came to Iowa, but perhaps it’s not poignant enough to become a title.
Seven GenerationsAccording to Native American tradition,
the consequences of choices
made by ancestors in one generation
reverberate for seven generations.
Make those decisions with utmost care,
they say, to guarantee good lives
for those who come after.
Seven generations of a motherline,
six lived in Iowa,
five in Guthrie County,
four were oldest daughters,
three lived into their nineties,
two with high school diplomas,
one became the keeper of their stories.
