Re-membering in the Shadows: A Collection of Essays

In the winter of 2024-25, I underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery for Parkinson's Disease. I had been diagnosed at the age of 52, seven years prior. Whether it was the effects of pain medication or some unexpected result of the surgery, I sensed a call to begin allowing others to tell their stories. So with my wife Heidi's blessing and encouragement, Santos Books LLC was born. And in 2025, we expect to publish two dozen books, most memoirs, but not all. Along with editing and publishing books, I also lead workshops on writing. The essays in this collection represent a new twist--publishing the stories of the "students" who registered for the seven-session course. As you will see from the biographies of the writers, many are also writing for Santos Books. The course had twenty students. While eleven students ended up submitting essays, everyone in the class made a significant contribution. For if we learn to become human by being among others, we also learn to write by being with others.As was true for the course, these essays will cause you to reflect, cry, laugh, and more! Most have to do with childhood memories, now filtered through many decades since. And with such filtering, the truth is even more stark and real than we so often understood at the moment when we experienced the events of the story.