APW Central Chapter hosted Jody Sharpe in January on the topic of “The Angels On The Writer’s Shoulders.” Writing about angels became healing for Jody after losing her daughter. The valuable lessons learned about moving forward have set her on a mission to tell stories with love and spiritual awakening, which she shared with the attendees.

Central Chapter Director, Barbara Lacy, said of the meeting, “I have been thinking about ‘my’ Angel ever since!” Two memories came to mind. Here’s one of them in Barbara’s words”

“..two things that happened because of Amazing Coincidence’s. . .that I never could have imagined.

“In 1977, my family and I lived on the Navajo Reservation. I was working on a book about Navajo plant use—being careful to leave out anything about sacred plants. I even had a publisher.

“Then, the Navajo Medicine Men’s Association heard about the book and, as men who were charged with protecting the Tribe’s sacred knowledge of plants, they banned my book. I had finished my project by then. . .and left the Reservation that week.

“Almost 10 years later, a woman professor from Illinois who came to the reservation every summer to research Navajo music, walked into the (now defunct) Navajo Press Bookstore to see what was new. Sitting on the counter was my manuscript!

“’Oh,’ she said, ‘Are you publishing Nanise?’

“’We want to, but we can’t find the author,’ the clerk said.

“My friend (or Angel!) pulled her address book out of her purse and gave her my Phoenix address! (I had met her the summer I stayed behind, after my family had moved to Phoenix, to finish up book details. She spoke Navajo and had been in the room when the Navajo Medicine Men banned the book and told me of their decision right after the meeting. I knew her for all of three days that summer and had no contact with her once I left the Reservation.)

“Did my Angel put the manuscript on the counter that day and direct my friend to the bookstore? Had that meeting almost ten years earlier been directed by my Angel?”

Next month we hear from Jan Cleere who researches interesting Arizona women and writes about them and will talk about sources for research.