Born and raised in Southern Illinois, I attended Truman State University to study theatre and education, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree respectively in 2000 and 2001. Teaching high school drama and public speaking for a while in St. Louis, Missouri, I eventually met my spouse there, and we moved shortly after marrying in 2004. Over the course of nearly 20 years of our time together, Joe and I have moved from Florence, Kentucky to Charlotte, North Carolina and now to Sandy Springs, Georgia (north of Atlanta) for his jobs.  After developing a debilitating illness, I found relief in Chinese medicine and went back to school for a second Master's degree in Acupuncture. With successful practices in Fort Mill, South Carolina and then in Roswell, Georgia, I made the decision to close my practice of eight years when the pandemic hit in order to facilitate my son's virtual schooling. 

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When isolation hit hard and fast, I decided to start a book club and invited old school friends, colleagues, and others to meet virtually once a month to discuss our reading. Almost two and one half years later, Bookish Book Club boasts thirteen members with an administrative team of four. Then in January 2022, I started a second book club to re-read all of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (including all of the Lord John Grey novels and smaller novellas -- in order) as a way to prepare to read the author's latest book, Go Tell the Bees That I Have Gone. 

 

In January of 2021, I began to think about how to handle the large number of books I had inherited from my late mother's collection. I stumbled upon a Little Free Library in my community one day, and I was  smitten with the idea of starting my own. I officially dedicated Melinda's Little Library to the memory of my mother in June 2021, and since that time I have loved every minute spent maintaining and stocking my sharing box with books and goodies for my community. 

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2022 saw an expansion of my community work when I presented during Razzle Dazzle Week at Atlanta Academy. This fabulous yearly event highlights literacy and young authorship skills. I spoke to the student body about the Little Free Library nonprofit, and together we gathered over 700 children's book donations to give out to the wider community. Many of the posts you see in my Instagram feed are from my "bookbombing" efforts to re-home these books in over 100 little libraries all around the state of Georgia.

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Last year was also special in that I began a partnership with Read4Unity, a nonprofit working to provide diverse books to K-12 classrooms and classrooms all over the United States. We delivered shipments of diverse books to communities such as Clarkston, GA, known as "The Most Diverse Square Mile in America" because it is home to thousands of refugees representing more than 40 countries and speaking at least 60 languages. We refurbished the sharing box at Refuge Coffee there as well as adopting the little library and free pantry outside of Jolly Avenue Community Garden, ensuring that the residents have regular access to reading materials in their own languages and basic food stuffs to supplement what they grow themselves in the garden.

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When I'm not gathering books for donation, bookbombing, maintenancing boxes, or reading, I enjoy writing letters, postcards and calling my elected representatives. Political activism is important to me, especially when it comes to reproductive rights, gun safety, and intellectual freedom. I also love decorating my home, sewing, crafting, and spending time with my family and two American Eskimo dogs, Brandy and Edy. But, no matter what I'm doing, my thoughts are never far away from thinking about what I'm reading, what I'll write about it, and what my next read will be. This "birdie" is book-brained!