Opening the dusty jewelry box, I pulled out the gold timepiece given to me on that long-ago Saturday in 1974, the day I graduated from Columbus High. The watch isn't as brilliant as it was that day. It's face-covering has clouded over - or it[..]
On every Social Media and news site I am bombarded with stories about college students rising up against the violence in the Middle East, specifically the innocent people in Gaza caught up in a war between Hamas terrorists and Israeli Defense Forces. There are fights[..]
There are these two chairs tucked into the corner next to the blood pressure machine at our local pharmacy. This is the waiting place for those about to get their flu shots or have just gotten a flu shot, or any other of the myriad[..]
There is this story I tell in the memoir I wrote about our family coping with the death of our father. It goes like this: We were living in a trailer park off Morris Road. I was 11 or 12, and Mama needed to have[..]
They say it is about God not the guns ... They say it's because America needs to humble itself before God. They say it's because we took prayer out of schools. They say it's because we are no-longer a God-fearing nation. They say it's because[..]
We took the train to Paisley. It's about an hour ride from Ayr. The two-way trip costs about $21 USD. Paisley is home to another University of West Scotland campus. A much larger campus, it is located about a 10-minute walk from the train[..]
We are starting out our New Year with one less family member. It was not a death that claimed him. Not a death in the typical sense at any rate, though, if I am completely honest, there have been moments when I think that[..]
Hardly anyone ever mentions the people we don't miss at the family gatherings. I don't mean those we love who have gone on to what I hope is an eternal celebration and not an eternal rest. I'm talking about the people who no longer gather[..]
I've been sitting on the porch listening to 60s hits to drown out the sound of the neighbors barking orders at each other as they build a fence. Two weeks ago, they cut down all the east facing trees that lined their driveway, sending the[..]
Editor's note: The artwork via Antioch Church in Bend, Oregon. The artwork is their Easter ministry. It is an outdoor drive-thru display depicting the message of the Gospel. As grandson Sawyer said, "God died for our sins. God is big." Yes, God is very, very[..]
Karen Spears Zacharias is an Appalachian writer, a former journalist, and author of numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction.
She holds a MA in Appalachian Studies from Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and a MA in Creative Media Practice from the University of West Scotland, Ayr, Scotland.
Her debut novel Mother of Rain received the Weatherford Award for Best in Appalachian Fiction from The Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College, Kentucky.
Zacharias was named Appalachian Heritage Writer in 2018 by Shepherd University.
Her work has been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post and in numerous anthologies.
She lives at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Deschutes County, Oregon, where she’s an active member of the League of Women Voters and Central Oregon Writers Guild. She is a member of Phi Beta Delta and Phi Kappa Phi. A Gold Star daughter, she is a fierce advocate for democratic principles and women’s rights.
Zacharias taught First-Amendment Rights at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, and continues to teach at writing workshops around the country.
Her forthcoming novel No Perfect Mothers will be released by Mercer University Press, Spring 2024.
For more information on Karen and her books, click here
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