Overview

A strong woman embraces life on her own terms, bringing blessings and tears. Berthella Stevens is a Renaissance woman full of hope and ahead of her time in 1960s Indiana. While some women of her era feel stifled, she is unafraid to express herself, reveling in beauty, writing, and natural living. She relishes the freedom while enduring the loneliness it brings to her rural home. But when she's banished from the family farm, her world is changed forever. Berthella died without achieving her lifetime dream of publishing a book. Kerry L Stevens fulfills the dream of his maverick mother by telling her remarkable and poignant story, sprinkled with her poetry and prose. .

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9781732426610

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Reviews

The memoir recounts Stevens' childhood memories, but it's truly about Berthella, with each chapter painting another stroke in a portrait of an exceptional woman. Stevens...has a gift for describing ordinary things in beautiful, artistic ways... Each chapter draws the reader in. - Kirkus Reviews A fabulous memoir that is heartfelt and dramatic. - Author Amy Shannon, of Amy's Bookshelf Reviews The words maverick and mother are not usually synonymous, but in FOREVER HERSELF, Kerry L Stevens' love letter to his mother, ...Stevens beautifully fuses memories of his childhood with Berthella's strength, poetry and essays. The combination inspires the discovery of our individual uniqueness and the courage to be our own person. - Sylvia Dickey Smith, award-winning author of the Sidra Smart Mystery Series, A War of Her Own, and Original Cyn.

The memoir recounts Stevens' childhood memories, but it's truly about Berthella, with each chapter painting another stroke in a portrait of an exceptional woman. Stevens...has a gift for describing ordinary things in beautiful, artistic ways... Each chapter draws the reader in. - Kirkus Reviews The words maverick and mother are not usually synonymous, but in FOREVER HERSELF, Kerry L Stevens' love letter to his mother, ...Stevens beautifully fuses memories of his childhood with Berthella's strength, poetry and essays. The combination inspires the discovery of our individual uniqueness and the courage to be our own person. - Sylvia Dickey Smith, award-winning author of the Sidra Smart Mystery Series, A War of Her Own, and Original Cyn. Forever Herself is a son's stirring tribute to his Indiana mother. - Philip Gulley, author of the Harmony series

Author Information

Kerry L Stevens is the lead author of Forever Herself: A Son's Memoir of a Remarkable Woman. His late mother, Berthella Stevens, is the contributing author. Kerry fuses Berthella's prose and poetry with his memories of their unique relationship to tell the endearing tale of his maverick mom. Kerry's literary journey began in third grade with an illustrated book of flying saucers written on thick, manila paper bound together with white paste. Since writing that first book and growing up in Indiana farm country, Kerry has written dozens of essays for his family magazine, completed creative writing classes with the Writers' League of Texas, and serves on the board of the San Gabriel Writers League. To nourish his heart, mind and soul, Kerry has helped lead two non-profits, taught youth Sunday school for twenty years, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, and currently leads church ministries focused on poverty, race relations, and environmental stewardship. He is retired and lives near Austin Texas, with his wife of more than thirty years. They have a grown daughter. More info available at www.KerryLStevens.com Berthella Stevens is the contributing author of Forever Herself: A Son's Memoir of a Remarkable Woman. Her son, Kerry L Stevens, the lead author, fuses Berthella's prose and poetry with his memories of their unique relationship to tell the endearing tale of his maverick mom. Berthella began writing in middle school with a poem imagining what a blind person ""saw."" Her unique perspective on the world brought a lifetime of challenges, but writing provided a lifetime of joy. She wrote poetry for many decades, plus children's, middle grade, and adult fiction, along with narrative non-fiction essays and a weekly human interest column in the local newspaper of her Indiana farming community. Several pieces were internally published in professional organizations to which she belonged. Overcoming the adversity of the Great Depression and a fatherless home, Berthella embraced the world beyond the gender expectations of her day. With an insatiable curiosity, she was inspired by the beauty of nature, flower gardening, natural living, music, and her faith. She was married to Kerry's father for sixty-five years and raised six children. Berthella died in 2011. More info available at www.KerryLStevens.com

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