When the author was almost four years old, her mother, Dorothyann, wrote a good-bye note and disappeared without a trace leaving behind four small children who were placed in the custody of the State of New York.

     Separated from her older brother and sister, Linda and her younger sister, Sandra, grew up fleeing from child protective service workers who saw only a glimpse of the appalling conditions they lived in after their grandmother illegally took them from the orphanage in New York City.

     This book tells a life story based on a box-full of old diaries that re-live the abuse and pain suffered at the hands of an unbridled angry grandmother; the unexpected escape; a tearful separation from her sister she had always protected; the birth and blessings of two wonderful sons; the slow death of a turbulent marriage and the agonizing lifelong search for a mother who abandoned her little children.

     It describes a pivotal moment when Linda discovers a very old letter left behind in the old files of the orphanage.  In it, Dorothyann had promised to return.  Linda finally knows that her mother might still be alive!

     After more than three decades of searching and on the verge of giving up, Linda suddenly locates her long lost brother and sister who were left behind in New York City. Then the explosive moment when Linda discovers that her mother is still alive. There is a grand reunion with all eight brothers and sisters not far from where it all began nearly 40 years before.

  The story does not end there. Another shocker will soon follow!

     This autobiography is not about family ancestry or revenge. It is about innocence and power.  It is about weakness and strength.  It is about those who helped create the paths the author traveled.  

    It is a gift to you, the reader.

     "Dusty Angels and Old Diaries" serves as a reminder of the past and a legacy for the future of every man, woman and child living today.

    From the weakest person to the most powerful on earth, "Dusty Angels" hopes to instill confidence to the insecure, courage to those who despair and a challenge for all of us to confront tomorrow wiser and stronger than we were yesterday.

     As the years went by, the growing pile of assorted diaries became her life link to keep her sane in a world she did not understand.

      The faded time-worn red diary and it's sister memoirs, is the foundation for Linda's first published book, ìDusty Angels and Old Diaries.î 

     Linda worked nights to put herself through LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) school.  Soon thereafter Linda married and had two sons, Billy and Philip.

    Always juggling several jobs and an entrepreneur at heart, Linda was a newspaper correspondent for The Herald Palladium in St. Joseph, Michigan and owner/photographer of a successful photography business while working as a nurse and attending college toward her RN degree.

    In 1992,  she won an elected position and served as the township clerk in Berrien Springs, Michigan for two terms.

     She is a former member of the of the Berrien Springs, Michigan Optimist Club and has served in many leadership positions in the Seventh-day Adventist church.

    Hobbies include ham radio, photography, playing the piano and flute, sewing, education and travel with her husband.  She and Jim live in the Midwest with two faithful dogs and one sleepy black cat. 

     She continues to write and keeps a running "diary" on the Internet at  http://dustyangels.blogspot.com 

     A website of her wedding photography work is at:     http://www.photosbylinda.com