Elizabeth Yeats began her writing career as an illiterate girl who cherished stories. She went on to become a distinguished 21st. century author, winning the Newbery Medal for Amos Fortune, Free Man. I remember reading that novel for school...I think Mom may have read it aloud.
Mom championed writing from day one. I recall her challenging me to write in my diary every day, "even if it is just a few sentences." That was at 8 or 9 years, when journaling every day was a still a novel idea. She passed this self-starter book along sometime during my elementary years. Oddly enough, I've never actually read it. A page here and there, yes -- but never a whole chapter. It has remained on my shelf, throughout six moves, college, and grad school.
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "It's the thought that counts." Cliché though it may be, I'm inclined to agree. She thought I should write. She believed that I would write. She invested her life into cultivating my love for narrative and print...among other things :) I'm giving the book another go tonight; perhaps someday I will write. Happy Mothers Day
Penny Lee Leonhard
June 1, 1951 - February 2, 2010
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