A Link with The Past

Introducing 'Love Stories' — The Album, by Shirley Hartung.

An old Chinese proverb reads: To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.

As an author and storyteller, it has always been the story behind the face, rather than the birth and death dates that have intrigued me when it comes to family trees. Although dates are an important part of genealogy, the space between the birth and death date always leaves me wondering what the dash really represents. What stories lie dormant, waiting to be told?

An artist doesn't put an empty canvas into a frame, but first paints his story on the canvass. Neither should only numbers represent a life. This leaves the same kind of vacuum and incompleteness as a blank canvass.

I have taken on the challenge, like the artist, to paint a story. Using words as my paintbrush, I hope I evoke the emotions an artist achieves through the use of colour and texture. But most importantly, I hope that I convey the respect and admiration I feel for those with whom I share the same family tree.

"Love Stories' tells the story of our forefathers- a part of history that is the fabric of our country- the Depression, the World Wars, the discovery of vaccines such as smallpox, the deaths that resulted because of a lack of such vaccines, inventions such as the telephone and so on.

Although the names on your family tree will be different, many of the stories will have a familiar ring to them. Chapter titles such as: School Days, Home Remedies, The Party Line and The Wood Shed will remind you about life in days gone by. Favourite recipes from the past are shared as well as some heart-felt poetry. I invite you to join me in celebrating the past, yours and mine, as we go back in time through story.

Shirley Hartung

I welcome your feedback: comments, stories, remembrances and memories that you too, hold close to your heart.

To order a copy of "Love Stories: The Album", please click here.