The purpose of the searches, the book, and the book tour was to connect with people I had lost, those I loved, and the people I met along the way. Every step was full of meaning and connection. Here are a few photos from the journey: (Click on “A Grand Book Tour” to see more photos.)
With my friend Mary at A Room of One’s Own in Madison, WI where I graduated from UW many years ago.
High School Friends Lynn & Lynn at A Room of One’s Own – Madison, WI
My mother and her two sisters who had once been close were estranged until the search led me to them and to their families. First I found Aunt Dorothy and Cousin Mickey. (Click on”Reunion” to see more photos.)
Susan and Dorothy, 2004
Cousin Mickey, 2004
I found Aunt Elinor alive and well at age 94 and then I found her children, John and Sandra. Sandra and her daughter, Amy, came to see Elinor in July, 2008.
Elinor, Amy, and Sandra, July, 2008
Laughlin Family, 1920
Margery, Dorothy, & Elinor, 1924
Family photos show three sisters. The only one I knew was Margery, my mother, the middle sister. The other two, Elinor and Dorothy were rarely mentioned and never seen until I found them close to the end of their lives, still singing.
Margery, Elinor, Dorothy, 1930
Elinor, Dorothy, Margery, Ben, 1932
Dorothy and Margery, 1930
Dave Johnson
May, 1942
My father was 25 when he was killed in WWII. I knew him only through the letter he wrote from Camp Lucky Strike on the north coast of France in the winter of ’45 to welcome me into the world. The love in that letter lived inside of me until I began to search for him several years ago. During the search I visited Luxembourg where his name is engraved on the Wall of Missing. Now there is a marker with his name and the dates of his short life at Arlington Cemetery.