Mary O BremierMary Bremier was born in 1928 in Hillsville, Virginia which is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Her ancestors were immigrants from England and Scotland who, rather than continue their journey westward, settled wherever spring waer gushed out of the hillsides in the Appalachian region. There their culture prevailed in its persistent traits and beliefs. Mary and her siblings attended one-room country schools in their early grades. During those years Mary had difficulty learning to read. The problem continued to plague her for years before she discovered she was dyslexic. In 1951 Mary graduated from Berea College in Kentucky, a college dedicated to educating students who were most stricken by the pervasive poverty of the region. In 1969 Mary and her husband, George, and their daughter, Celia, moved to Washington, DC. They had established themselves there when George and Celia died in a car crash. At the time, Mary had begun a master's program with Antioch College based in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Feeling distraught from the loss of her family, her first impulse was to leave the place where she had her fondest memories with her family. But unable to move, she continued the program and received her master's degree in the spring of 1968. Soon after, she moved to California. There she taught while studying at California State University, Hayward and California State University, Northridge to complete a California credential as a reading specialist. Mary has taught reading skills to students at American University in Washington, DC, Colegio Roosevelt in Lima, Peru, Berea College in Kentucky, and in the Los Angeles School District and the Los Angeles Community College District in California. The Shadows of Appalachia is her first book. Read More Read Less