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Northwest Senior & Boomer News, June 2008
OREGON AUTHORS
Her dream came true
By MAGGI WHITE
Photo by Brian Libby
Alice Mitchell, lovely in a white sweater matching her hair, tells us she feels as if she is "living a dream." The dream being that she would write a book and it would be published. At age 86, her dream has come true.
A Father's Heart is work of fiction, a story about a child without a father in her life. The absence of Mitchell's father had a profound effect.
Her writing teacher, to whom the book is dedicated, told her, "Write what you know."
Set in Depression-era Portland, the novel will stir memories for people in Mitchell's generation who grew up in this city. The book is about one man who breaks Maddie Miller's heart (the voice of the book) and another who steps in to mend it.
In real life, Mitchell finally met her father when she was 30, and the experience was not pleasant. It was "strange," and he left in an hour. "I was very nervous, and my expectations never materialized. It was a disaster. My husband held me together." She now feels it helped put closure to the sadness she felt as a child when her friends had fathers and she did not.
Her mother, who was 16 when she gave birth to Mitchell, had to go to work, and so Mitchell was "boarded out" to friends and relatives in Oregon City, Hillsboro, St. Helens, and Portland.
"It left a gap in my life. I really had no family life," she said.
After her son and daughter were grown Mitchell decided to do "something I always wanted to do," and went to writing classes at Mt. Hood Community College. She attended for 20 years and is grateful for the encouragement of her creative writing teacher, Dee Lopez, now deceased. In those classes she found kindred spirits and "education and inspiration."
"My teacher said write what you know best, something that has touched you, something for which you felt great passion, whether a trauma or something joyous. She said that's where you need to go," said Alice. "I thought about it and first wrote a book called 'Far Horizon,' a tale about my husband, which I self-published." It was based upon his being part of an exchange with a British policeman. The couple lived in England for six months, then traveled Europe for another few weeks.
Mitchell was married for 63 years. Her husband, Bob, retired in 1971 as a deputy chief of the Sheriff's Department. He died in 2004. After recovering from that loss, she sold the home they had lived in for 40 years and moved into a retirement community. Mitchell had put the manuscript on a bookshelf for two years when her husband's health deteriorated.
"My new book is fiction based upon fact," explained Alice, "with a strong thread of faith." Her granddaughter, Lisa Knox, a graphic designer, designed the cover of her book that was accepted by the first publisher it was sent to be another granddaughter, writer Laurel Thompson.
She said she has learned a great deal about all the aspects of publishing. The book "almost wrote itself." She said she "couldn't wait to get up in the morning" and work on it. Her daughter, Roberta Hill, who lives in Sherwood, helped her in the editing process.
How did it feel when the publisher told her they were going to produce her book? "Elated, euphoric. My daughter and I celebrated by going out to dinner. My dream came true. I've never worked so hard in my life getting that book ready."
A Father's Heart may be ordered from the publisher www.publishamerica.com or from any bookstore, or Amazon.com. For more information, email afathersheart@alicemitchell.com or www.alicemitchell.com.