Tina R. Ferguson
I grew up the daughter of a young artistic mother and a fearless depression-era grandmother who provided for us by working 16-hour days as an LVN nurse. My dad, a Chickasaw from Oklahoma, was sent away from our North Texas home by my grandmother before I was born. I never knew him. My mother wanted freedom from her mother and spent her time looking for a way out. For many of my childhood years I spent a lot of time alone, unmarked by the world’s ways, lost in my own world. I would say that I was largely unparented, except that I was parented by divine messengers who taught me about our world – and theirs. They comforted me when I felt alone. They showed me the way when I felt lost. They listened to me when I wondered about everything and had no one to talk to. Their love and patience still take my breath away. My mother, wanting to give me the freedom she never had, let me run wild and free. She wanted me to be ‘independent,’ not dependent on others like she was.
I took her gift and ran. I ran through the concrete government housing jungles at 4, the tropical jungles of Guam at 6, and many others, including various corporate jungles. I have visited many worlds, but none of these compare to the one I have known since I was a child. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to share this world with others. My longing started with wanting to write stories about the world and grew into wanting to invite others to experience it. The more I listened to people from all walks of life who had no idea this world existed, I wanted to encourage them to discover this world for themselves, and to trust what they discovered when they did. Mostly, I write to celebrate the very real divine magic and messengers that inspire me each day. Perhaps you will be inspired, too.