Publications & Films

   

Books:

Sold to the Highest Bidder: A children's chapter book for middle grades, published in 2013.       "Phyllis Galley Westover involves readers so completely in  the problem of eleven-year-old Jed that the result is a compelling, powerful story. Follow Jed in a 1940s summer as he nurses a neighbor's pony back to health. Watch how he struggles in an effort to own this pony against impossible odds. See how he learns that sometimes you have to share your love in order to keep it."       ~ Suella and Lawrence Walsh, authors of the children's novels, Running Scared and Through a Dark Tunnel.

Anthologies:

	"Insights in the Rearview Mirror," published in Twelve Breaths a Minute, a collection of essays on how we die, 2011, SMU Press with Creative Nonfiction. "As a book reviewer I am usually at once attending to both the words on the page and what should be said about them. With Twelve Breaths a Minute, however, I could not think beyond these essays. I could only read, unblinkingly, imagining nothing but the scenes the writers were putting before me, hypnotized by their messages and their honesty . . . Phyllis Galley Westover writes, 'If I had one more conversation with my father, I'd say, 'I'm sorry I didn't know more sooner, Daddy.'" ~Janelle Adsit, ForeWord Review
	"Insights in the Rearview Mirror," published in At the End of Life: True Stories About How We Die, 2011, Creative Nonfiction (paperback 2nd printing of Twelve Breaths a Minute). "Truly gripping narratives that illuminate a hard truth about death in our culture: it is always so complicated, so much thornier than we think. . . . (The) authors . . . deserve credit for being unsparingly honest about doctoring, about decision-making, about their own ambivalent emotions. They have a lot to teach us." ~New York Times "An impressive, meaningful, and often courageous chorus of voices tackling a once-taboo subject with dignity . . ." ~Publishers Weekly
	"Exits," published in This Is the Way We Say Goodbye, essays about how we die, 2011, The Feminist Press. "This haunting collection of personal essays explores the uneasy balance between family and self. As the authors learn how to face the realities of aging, they reveal their own ambivalence about care-taking, the adjustment when a parent and child switch places, and the challenges of staying compassionate throughout the messiness of life and death." ~The Feminist Press
	Excerpt from "To Plant Trees with My Father,"  published in Beginning from the Middle, 1994, by Whispering Prairie Press. "Gentle, straight forward stories punctuated by clear, melodious poems: readers will likely find much that mirrors their own lives here." ~Sandra Martz, Editor, I Am Becoming The Woman I've Wanted, Papier-Mache Press.
	"To Absorb the Heartland," published in Handprint in the Woods, 1997, by Whispering Prairie Press. "A wonderful collection of poetry and prose that captures the essence of life in the heartland. The works--some reminiscences, some pure fiction--present a warm and colorful image of prairie people." ~Andrea Glenn, Editor, KANSAS! Magazine
	"December Triptych," published in The Season of Light, 2001, by Whispering Prairie Press. "The holiday collection of poetry, fiction and essays by Kansas City writers invites you into moments lit by humor, love, fear and faith. . . You will find your way as these storytellers, poets and essayists guide you to an understanding of the common bond we share, those of us touched by this season of light." ~Whispering Prairie Press

 

Literary Journals & Magazines:

Boulevard Magazine:    

• "When the Flood Subsides," short story (received Boulevard's fiction award in 2003)
• "To Plant Trees with My Father," essay
• "Symposium," commentaries

Potpourri, A Magazine of the Literary Arts:

• Numerous essays and interviews written as Humanities Editor and Columnist

Kansas City Voices:

• "After the Movie," short story
• "Breathing," short story

St. Anthony Messenger:

• "Stuffing Sydney's Red Bag," feature article

Unitarian Universalist World:

• "Escaping the Boxes," Point of View essay
• "Liberal What?" Point of View essay
• "Epiphanies and Early Snow," Point of View essay

Sculpture Magazine:

• Art review of sculptor and painter Rita Blitt's exhibit at Brandeis University

Newspapers:

• Topeka Journal
• Northern Virginia Sun
• Review
• Oklahoma Lifestyles
• Kansas City Business Journal
• The Sun
• The Squire
• The Lenexa News
• The Blue Valley Gazette     

Monographs:

• The Competency-Based Degree Program and the People It Serves, Co-author, OCU Press.
• Career Advising Workshop for College Faculty: Workshop Leaders' Guide, Editor, OCU Press.

Documentary Films:

• IVS Vietnam: Commitment to Growth, Writer; produced by InterArts, Inc. and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
• A Hand Up, Writer; produced by World Neighbors, Inc.; aired on public television.
• The Arts and the City: Choice or Chance? Writer/Narrator; produced by InterArts, Inc. and funded by NEH and the Oklahoma Arts and Humanities Council; aired on public television.