Every family has stories. Some are well-worn tales passed down through generations, while others are fragments — half-remembered, scattered like leaves caught in the wind. My book, Gathering More Leaves, Volume I, was born out of a desire to collect those fragments, to preserve them before they were lost, and to weave them into something meaningful for both my family and anyone who values history, memory, and the way our lives connect across time.

Why I Wrote This Book

Years ago, I began exploring my family’s history — not just the dates and names, but the voices, the struggles, and the everyday lives that shaped who we are. What started as a personal project grew into a much larger journey. I realized that my experiences — with writing, with discovery, and with grief — might resonate with others who are also piecing together their own family stories.

What You’ll Find Inside

Gathering More Leaves, Volume I is part memoir, part historical exploration. Within its pages, you’ll discover:

• Personal Reflections — my own experiences with writing, loss, and renewal.
  
• Family History — stories of ancestors who built, migrated, struggled, and persevered.
  
• Cultural Commentary — thoughts on how we remember, and how memory shapes identity.
  

It’s a book for anyone who has ever sat with a box of old photographs, or walked through an overgrown cemetery, wondering about the lives that came before us.

A Glimpse Inside

Here’s a passage from the introduction:

“The story begins in 2019 when I told my uncle that I planned to do a complete rewrite of Gathering Leaves after I realized how embarrassing were the mistakes made in terms of facts and grammar. Plus, the book had grown to nearly 500 pages due to bloat from repetition. That was when I planned to retire in 2020. Stuff happened and I didn’t retire. On top of everything, my beloved mother died on my birthday.”

This honesty and vulnerability run throughout the book — it’s not just about genealogy, but about the human experience of carrying memory forward.

Why It Matters

We live in a fast-paced world that often forgets to pause and look back. Gathering More Leaves invites readers to slow down, reflect, and perhaps be inspired to preserve their own family stories. My hope is that it sparks conversations, connections, and maybe even a few rediscoveries in your own journey.

Where to Get It

If this resonates with you, I invite you to read Gathering More Leaves, Volume I. You can find it here on Amazon:

👉Gathering More Leaves, Volume I on Amazon

And if you do read it, I’d be deeply grateful if you left a review — your feedback not only encourages me, but also helps others find the book.

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💬 I’d love to hear from you: Do you have a family story that’s been passed down through generations? Share it in the comments — I’d be honored to read it.