Wanderings and Musings of a Missouri Farm Girl
Annalou Mack's formative years were spent on a farm in North Missouri during the Great Depression. She didn't know how poor her family was because life was the same for everyone around them. Her elementary education was received in one-room country schools common during that era. Anna completed college after marriage and the birth of three children in rapid succession. Subsequently she taught high school Social Studies in the tiny high school her children attended. Continuing her education, the author received a Master's degree in Social Studies, a Specialist in Guidance and Counseling and a Doctorate in Higher Education. Rather than teach college for which she was qualified, the author took a decidedly different life path that included travel and service work. This included two stints in the Peace Corps-one in Liberia, West Africa and the other in Ukraine, in Eastern Europe. Between the tours overseas, she and her husband lived in their travel trailer while traveling the U.S. for several years before they settled in Yuma, Arizona where Anna directed an adult literacy program. Academic writing was a necessity during her college days, but only within the past ten years has Anna tried her hand at creative writing. She has been editor of several newsletters and been published in local newspapers, regional publications and one national magazine. Writing professionals always tell you to write about things you know. With that in mind, it was not too difficult for Anna to write the life snippets found in this book. What does a person know better than her own life story?