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Local Authors Connect with their Families and Communities

As long as there’s been language, there’s been storytelling. From the beginning, people shared experiences to inform, educate and entertain. The form has varied from drawings and hieroglyphics to oral storytelling.

It’s a way to learn, empathize and gain new perspectives and thoughts about those around us—sometimes strangers and other times, those closest to us. Today, it’s easier than ever to relay feelings and experiences.

Three local authors are doing just that. Learn about their stories and why/how they’ve put them into print.

“Catharsis” by Alice Jentz Claypool from Appleton

“I wanted to leave the stories of my life for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to better understand the times I lived in—both good and bad,” Claypool says. “I also wanted them to recognize how important other people are in our lives, how they change your life, and to appreciate those people.”

What was your “day-in-the-life,” per se, like whilst writing? My stories were written over the course of 60 years. Whenever something touched me, frightened me, gave me joy or initiated any type of emotion, I would write. Getting it on paper provided catharsis for me. When I was hospitalized in 2021 and told I may not survive, my daughters told me that whether I lived or not, my poems and stories absolutely had to be compiled and printed. Our “book club” started meeting every week or two to review them and get them ready to send to print.

Publisher: Self-published with the help of SPECTRAPrint in Stevens Point.

What surprised you most about the process of publishing a book? So many decisions! What typeface, what graphics, what paper, what pictures to include. The entire process was enlightening!

Why do you think storytelling is so important? That is the way we pass on our history, our thoughts and our feelings.

Any fun facts about the writing process? My children always knew I was writing but they had no idea how many poems and stories I had completed over the years. I kept all my writings in file cabinets and totes and assumed my children would find them all after I died. However, my children found them while I was in the hospital and they took on the project. The book would not have happened without my daughters and my grandson, Brett. He absolutely loved the “book club” meetings.

Information on purchasing “Catharsis” can be found by sending an email to [email protected]. 20% of all book purchases through December 15, 2024 will be donated to buyers’ choice of two area nonprofits: SOAR Fox Cities/Special Olympics or Appleton Police Department K-9 Unit.

“Waltraud — A True Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany” by Tammy Borden from New London
“(The book) is my mother’s true story of coming of age during World War II as an ordinary—yet quite extraordinary—German girl,” Borden says. “I collected her stories through the years, secretly recording many of them, and wove them into a narrative that reads like a historical fiction novel, but the events that happened, happened.

“She’s no longer here to share the stories herself, so I’m telling them for her. I wanted to preserve her memories for family and friends and never imagined they would resonate with thousands of readers around the globe or that I’d speak at more than 50 events in the last year as a result. Most are unaware of the German perspective of World War II and what it was like to be an average citizen growing up under Hitler’s oppressive regime, including the forced allegiance, profound fear, cruelty, and horrifying consequences of a madman. Why did I write this novel? I want the world to know my mom and her story, and where her strength came from.”

What was your “day-in-the-life,” per se, like whilst writing? I work full time, so writing for me means getting up early each morning to write before my “real” job begins, along with lots of late nights.

Publisher: Self-published.

What surprised you most about the process of publishing a book? I chose to self-publish for many reasons, including wanting to maintain control of the narrative of my mother’s story… that said, I’m a bit saddened that some people have biases about self-published authors, believing their work can’t achieve the same caliber of writing quality as traditionally published authors. But even some traditionally published authors are switching to self-publishing now because of the freedom and control it offers, plus many traditional publishing houses are demanding more and more of authors with little in return. Truth is, there are authors on both sides who fall short and those who succeed.

Why do you think storytelling is so important? It’s so important to tell stories, especially true stories of someone’s life. They hold incredible power. My mother experienced a lot of trauma and heartache in her young life, yet she didn’t stuff it inside. Her story helps pull back the curtain on history to allow others to understand how a nation can succumb to a dictator, and hopefully shares a lesson on how to stop it from happening again. It also demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit. We need to learn from our past, and it’s the compelling stories of the average person doing remarkable things that inspire others to do the same. If an ordinary girl named Waltraud from a small village in Germany can find the courage to stand up for what is right in the face of evil and change the world around her, maybe others can, too.

“Waltraud — A True Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany” can be found at area bookstores throughout the Fox Valley, as well as on Amazon. A list of retail outlets is available at www.TammyBorden.com.

“Squatter: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Spirit on the Ice Age Trail” by Yolanda DeLoach from Wausau

“Squatter is the story of two journeys: my emotional journey of trying to leave a destructive relationship and my physical journey of section-hiking the Ice Age Trail over the course of a year, from the spring of 2020 to the spring of 2021,” DeLoach says. “These entwined experiences aided me in healing and self-discovery.

“Good stories involve change and growth. The year I spent hiking the Ice Age Trail reflected that. That year not only helped me to leave a destructive relationship, but set me on a path of learning about how our earliest childhood relationships with caregivers helps create the template for our adult relationships. I wanted to openly share my experiences and thoughts because if I experienced this, then others have as well. There is often a lot of shame associated with these types of relationships and I wanted to be open so that others don’t feel alone.”

What was your “day-in-the-life,” per se, like whilst writing? My work life as a nurse involved almost 13 hours days, so I did not write on work days. I had taken classes on writing and structuring a memoir prior to starting the book. My non-work days were writing days. I love mornings, so I would write from six to 8:30 or 9 am. I eventually joined an online writing group that met every couple of weeks. Once the manuscript was finished, I took the feedback of Beta Readers and made changes based on their suggestions. Then I hired a developmental editor as the final step before sending it off to Cornerstone Press. That timeframe from start to sending it off was 20 months.

Publisher: Cornerstone Press of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.

What surprised you most about the process of publishing a book? I had learned as much as I could about the process so I went into it informed. I also had taken a continuing education publishing class at UWSP and knew they would be the first publisher that I would approach when my manuscript was finished. They accepted it and were wonderful to work with, making the process easier than I anticipated. What surprised me was being introduced to other writers and their fine work. There’s a whole writing community “out there.”

Why do you think storytelling is so important? Storytelling reflects the human experiences that we all share. Stories help us to have empathy and compassion for others’ experiences as well as being entertaining.

Any fun facts about the writing process? If anyone is interested in how I learned to write and structure a memoir, I read the book, The Memoir Project and took the online classes offered by the author.

“Squatter” is in many bookstores around the state as well as online wherever books are sold, such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as www.YolandaDeloach.com and UWSP’s Cornerstone Press https://www3.uwsp.edu/english/cornerstone/Pages/BOOKS.aspx