Author T.H. Waters: ‘A Kid Like Me…’

It’s my pleasure to welcome ‘new-to-me’ author T.H. Waters as the special guest blogger today as she tours blogdom with her debut release, GHELLOW ROAD.

Here’s a brief synopsis of her book: GHELLOW ROAD is a literary diary of a young girl’s journey through the tangled labyrinth that is her life. Theresa’s story begins in a large Midwestern city where she is born to loving parents in 1965. For a brief moment in time, her life is full, as is her heart, and the world is hers to receive without consequence. As time passes and Theresa grows, supernatural forces begin to shape her existence, no matter how carefully her father colors the empty spaces of her world. After a series of tragic events, Theresa and her family seek refuge in a small Minnesota town nestled near the shores of Rainy Lake. She creates a new life for herself there, sharing adventures with friends and riding the ups and downs of adolescence. Yet through it all, her mother remains forever lost in the prison of her own mind and forever lost to Theresa. The young girl feels as though she is leading a double life, one that no one else could possibly understand. She begins to peer at the world as if looking through a thick, black veil, never certain which pieces are illusion and which are not. Through the kindness and support of the townspeople, she eventually summons the strength to survive. This is a story of tragedy and triumph. This is the story of my life. 

T.H., aka Tera, joins us today to talk about “A Kid Like Me…” She tells how she came to write GHELLOW ROAD and what she hopes others will take from it.

I was born a long time ago, eons actually, or so it seems. My upbringing was unusual, odd at best, and I longed for the conventional lifestyle that all my friends enjoyed. Unlike many other writers, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. All I knew was that I wanted something different, far different, polar opposite different from the murky life I’d lived until the day I turned 18 and got ready to shove off for college.
 
I loved my parents… dearly. They both were young, smart and full of freshness when they married, poised to capture the American dream. Two people who were worthy of admiration for their unwavering determination. But as one life entwined itself around the other and the children came, bills mounted, jobs became harder to find, they were consumed by an obstacle that was simply insurmountable, and we eventually imploded, all four of us, Mom, Daddy, my brother and I, failing to land firmly on our feet. After Daddy died when I was ten years old, we moved to a small town in northern Minnesota. I swear that’s what saved my life. I was lucky that we knew so many gentle and caring people there who overlooked the untidiness of my wilting family and showed us the true meaning of “community”.
 
My mother, broken from years of mental illness and loads of prescription medications, died five years ago. It was only then that I stopped viewing her as a woman who could never provide the only thing I’d ever wanted from her… an unyielding bond between the two of us. It was only then that I started to wonder what her young dreams had been as a girl and all that she had lost, this extremely bright, delicate creature who was robbed by an inexplicable foe of all that life could have offered her, should have offered her. I wish I could have known the soothing of her voice as she read me to sleep or felt the strength of her support during my many failed attempts to properly examine my world. But my mother was never capable of such pivotal parental duties. She was far too consumed with treading the tumultuous waters of her own existence. It was never anyone’s fault; it was simply something that just happened. I know that now.  

My book, GHELLOW ROAD, was an extremely ambitious project for me. I had never put as much effort into anything else as I did with this endeavor, my blood, sweat, tears… you name it. Why did I ever write it? One reason -- I had so much I wanted to say. I hope that each and every person who reads it will be touched in one way or another. But if you glean only one tidbit, one shining morsel, I would ask it to be this: My tale is larger than just one child. It belongs to the thousands of kids out there who are just like me, past, present… and future.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mason Canyon from the bottom of my heart. You’ve been so gracious and I’m truly grateful for all of your support. …..Tera aka T.H. Waters

Tera, thank you for guest blogging today. I think your story is one that will inspire others. You have a great outlook. Wishing you much success with your writing.

Now let me share a bit more background on Tera. She was raised in the state of Minnesota and currently reside in Minneapolis with her significant other and two loving fur balls. She has always been a life-long lover of the written word. 

When asked about her love of writing, Tera said, “I love the magic of it, the mystique; I love the breadth of it and how it can fortify one’s spirit. I didn’t grow up imagining that I would one day become an author. In fact, I never even considered it until about 8 years ago when I received news that my brother had died suddenly. He was only 39 years old. It was one of the saddest days of my life. Numb and in shock, I picked up a pen and some paper, sat down at my dining room table and, with tears streaming down my face, I wrote his eulogy. A few more years would pass before my significant other encouraged me to take my passion for writing and use it to create my life’s story, GHELLOW ROAD. My book is written from the heart, and I hope it will move you in some way… All my best,”

If you are a writer, do you include parts of your personal life in your work? As a reader, do you find books written from the heart more emotional and tend to stay with you much longer? Share your thoughts with us today.