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West Virginia has a way of getting into your bones. I moved here past mid-life with my husband, our grown kids scattered behind us, and now added two kitty fur babies to our one in tow; our dog Ollie. We came chasing a calling I couldn’t quite name yet. Now I run a nonprofit bicycle co-op, coach small business owners, and write about what I find in my own backyard, literally and figuratively.

My West Virginia Backyard is equal parts personal essay, small-town adventure, and love letter to a state most people don’t stay long enough to understand. These are essays on place, belonging, small business, and what it means to root down somewhere new. Pull up a chair. The porch light’s on. Sparkle on humans!

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