No Longer Silent: Memoirs for My Granddaughter

This book is titled No Longer Silent: Memoirs for My Granddaughter. It gives my granddaughter a brief historical account of my life. The inspiration for this book was my granddaughter.

Aldrena Thirkill tells of the deep memories that weaved and shaped my life. Her story is for her granddaughter because of her profound interest and request she had at a very young age about her grandmother's history. She then requested that her daughters share their stories and memories of their father in their own way. A book labeled memoir but it happens to be so much more than a typical memoir. It is not written by a single author in a single, static voice. Instead, it combines a chorus of voices – that of Aldrena (Grandmother), along with her daughters Erika (Mykhayla's mother, to whom this memoir is dedicated) and Robyn. Vignettes, anecdotes, memories, sketches of central figures like Aldrena's husband, explorations of subjects as monumental as the civil rights movement and the devastating closure of Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools, right down to tiny details about the family members' upbringing that make them who they are (childhood chores... cursing in front of a parent for the first time... food and its role in family life) – this memoir weaves all of these elements together gracefully and leaves readers feeling deeply moved. The closing passages writings from Robyn's high school magazine – were particularly touching.A central theme of this memoir is the profound impact that the closing of Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools had on Aldrena during a pivotal time in American history. In reading about her experiences – her journey to break free from the self-imposed silence that left her holding on to pain, her steps toward finding her voice and healing – these are powerful and moving accounts in and of themselves. When combined with the contributions from her two daughters, Erika and Robyn, the end results are not only a beautiful gift to the author's granddaughter Mykhayla but also a literary work with the power to deeply affect anyone fortunate enough to read it.