Topics of conversation:

• Who was Lydia Ross?  Why was she so "feisty"?
• Recollections from war time Germany, and Lydia's early days in America.
• Author and friend, Edna Thayer shares some entertaining, favorite stories.
• Lydia's input towards the book, right up until her passing after the final draft was complete.
• Promotions, marketing, and book signings.

Listen to interview with Edna Thayer

Edna Thayer began her writing career after she retired from over forty years in the nursing profession.  Her first book, co-authored with Mary Huntley and Linda Beer, was published in 2003 and told the 50 year history of the school of nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN.  She teamed with Mary Huntley again for her second book, A Mirthful Spirit, Embracing Laughter for Wellness, published in 2007, which tells about the benefits of joy and laughter for one’s health.  Feisty Lydia, Memoirs of a German War Bride, is Edna’s first venture as a solo author.  It was published in June of this year, 2009.

In addition to being a registered nurse, Edna holds master’s degrees in both nursing and counseling.  Edna and her husband David live in a home on Lake Francis in Elysian, MN, next door to the home of John and Lydia Ross, the subject of Edna’s book.

Purchase Feisy Lydia, Memoirs of a German War Bride
Edna Thayer
Minnesota Heritage Publishing; First edition (2009)
ISBN 9780979494086
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (10/09)

Synopsis: :"Feisty Lydia" is the personal story of a woman born in 1925 in Neuotting, Germany. Her remarkable spirit helped her to survive a premature birth, the Great Depression, death-defying experiences, the Nazi regime, and war in her country. The story continues when this German war bride journeyed with her young son Johnny aboard an American troop ship to America in 1948 to join her husband John.

Read how Lydia used her feisty and optimistic spirit to overcome the struggles of life in a new country and to create her Elysian Fields, a place of joy and tranquility, in the city of Elysian, MN. Sprinkled with glimpses of history to provide the setting, the biography of Lydia is created from personal interviews with Lydia, her family, and friends.