"MAE is a most beautifully and compellingly written, heart-breaking, life-and-love-affirming tale all at once. I read it in one sitting I was so unable to put it down. This is creative nonfiction at its finest." -Acclaimed novelist Sophie Powell A tale of love, challenges, determination and faith, MAE chronicles the life of L.Mae Martin, whose journey starts on her family's farm in Scituate, Rhode Island, a small New England town, during the depression. A strong willed girl whose favorite motto is "It's a great life if you don't weaken," Mae faces a myriad of obstacles in her life from both strange and overbearing relatives to friends who encourage and help her on her way to her dream of becoming a teacher and mother. Though she always keeps a positive attitude, she must make her way through a maze of tragic and challenging events and experiences which she encounters along the way. Regardless, she refuses to give in or give up on her dreams. MAE is a story about a strong woman with a zest for life who fights for what she believes in to the very end. She is a shining example of family values and virtues for modern day women. Dick Martin is an award winning writer whose feature stories and columns have appeared in a number of magazines and newspapers including Your Smithfield Magazine, The Woonsocket Call, The Providence Journal, Providence Magazine, and The Observer, among other venues. Martin, who grew up on a small farm in Glocester, Rhode Island, based the story of Mae on his own mother, who kept diaries growing up on the family farm in Scituate, Rhode Island. Tales were a common pastime for the family, whose strong Irish heritage is evident in the stories which fill the pages of MAE. It is a book which is both humorous and sad as it winds through the path of Mae's long life, a life of fulfillment, promise, and hope, but most of all, love.
About the Author: "With the debut of MAE, Dick Martin showcases the storytelling gifts that long have charmed his readers. As a journalist, his prizewinning features document the wider geography of small town New England life...exploring regions of heart and and history that are without boundary or border. There is the poetic impulse of a Housman in Dick Martin's account of the life of his mother Mae who raised her country boy to appreciate the whimsy of rural life and the wisdom of country folk still to be found in abundance in mid-20th century America. MAE is the true story of a girl who faces challenges worthy of Dicken's Pip, but who also fulfills her own great expectations in the little village of Harmony...where home is where the heart is." -Mary Lee Partington, founder Blackstone River Theatre's Riverfolk Concert Series and The Heritage Arts Studio, Former Chair RI Council for the Humanities "Dick Martin and I have been connected via the written word for more than 25 years. He is one of the most versatile, observant, and reliable writers I have had the pleasure of working with. He is equally skilled with subjects as diverse as education, sports, food, travel, the arts, the environment, business, music, as well as insight-laden biographical profiles. As a columnist he is just as adept at humor as he is with poignant reflections on human nature." -Laurence J. Sasso, Jr., Publisher and Editor, Your Smithfield Magazine Dick Martin is an award winning writer and teacher, who has worked for over 30 years as a professional writer for various magazines and newspapers, as well as having worked as a high school English teacher for a combined 40 years at both Burrillville High School in Rhode Island and at Killingly High School in Connecticut. Martin has earned a wealth of top awards from both the Rhode Island Press Association and the New England Press Association for his columns and feature stories. Martin's students have also garnered a number of writing awards over the years in both schools thanks to his efforts on their behalf in spreading his knowledge and talent in writing. He has been recognized for his contributions to education by the National Education Association, as well and has appeared regularly in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers. He is a 1971 graduate of the University of Rhode Island.