A Journey of Voices: Chasing the Frontier

Author: Diane McAdams Gladow

ISBN 978-1-60264-531-8 (softcover)

226 pages

Old, yellowed, mouse-chewed letters can be fascinating reading as they open the door to the past, to a time which can usually only be visited in the history books. "A Journey of Voices: Chasing the Frontier" is the end product of a fifteen-year search to find any existing information about the Jordan family and to tell their story through their written letters. The Jordan family immigrated from North Carolina to Georgia to Mississippi to Louisiana in the early 1800s, fought their way through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and immigrated once again to Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The story of their journey and the voices in their letters combine to form a rich microcosm of American history. For readers, and especially those interested in the ordinary people who lived American history, this book provides a way to see and hear about the momentous events of the past in a unique way. Come, take a journey and meet the Jordans, people of courage, humor, and indomitable spirit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diane McAdams Gladow is a former English Composition instructor at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. During her nine years at the University, she also served as a director of the Writing Center on campus and was the voice of the Grammar Hotline, a telephone service from which the public could obtain answers to English grammar questions. After leaving the University, she taught adult basic skills at the Adult Education Center in Emporia. For almost twenty years, she was a coordinator for the Emporia Literacy Program and continues to volunteer tutor with them. She has authored one other book, a memoir of her husband's family, "Rich Heritage." She enjoys family research, traveling, and reading among her collection of hobbies. She was born and raised in New Mexico, graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso, and obtained a Master's Degree from the University of New Mexico. She and her husband live in Emporia, Kansas, and have three grown children and three grandchildren. She is currently working on the next volume in the Journey of Voices series.