About the Book
"More than just Monogamy" takes a serious look at traditional marriage forms in a variety of modern world cultures. Readers will discover that lifetime monogamy - or even serial monogamy - may not be the one true path for a lot of individuals and families throughout the world. Readers are afforded a different view of love, relationships, responsibility, and family than they may have experienced in their own lives. This book was my final research paper for Freshman Composition and Analysis, in 2009, at Olney Central College, in Olney, Illinois. My professor was a truly delightful woman named Kelly Payne, who went out of her way to make sure that any student willing to learn would learn, and any student willing to put in the work needed to excel would excel. She challenged her students to be their best, and to do their best, and she did not accept half-measures. This assignment was simple in concept, but not in execution. It was to choose a topic that would be considered controversial, with some restrictions to avoid over-used topics, and to research the topic. The research would inform the thesis, rather than conforming to a pre-conceived thesis. The final paper would be at least ten pages long, if I remember correctly, and would references at least ten sources, again trusting to my memory for the number. With the required MLA formatting, my final paper was 30 pages, with five pages of end notes, and four pages of works cited. I have written many papers since completing this assignment, but this remains my favorite work. Although my personal religious views make me a firm monogamist, exploring the various polygamist cultures that still exist and succeed in the world was a fascinating experience. I am pleased to offer this alternative world-view to my readers.
About the Author: Debbie Barry lives with her husband in southeastern Michigan with their two cats, Mister and Goblin. They enjoy exploring history through French and Indian War re-enactment and through medieval re-enactment in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Debbie grew up in southwestern Vermont, where she heard and collected many family stories that she enjoys retelling as historical fiction for young audiences, and as family and local history for genealogists, as well as memory stories of her own life. Debbie graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in dual majors of social sciences with an education concentration and of English in 2013. She is on hiatus from pursuing her master's degree in linguistics, specializing in teaching English as a second language (TESOL), at Oakland University, in Rochester, Michigan, as a result of going blind and battling long-term illness. Debbie went blind suddenly, without obvious cause, on December 15, 2014, at the age of 45. Her family, friends, and doctors expected her to give in to the darkness and become bitter and angry. Instead, Debbie chose to adopt a positive attitude, even when she felt anything but positive, and to find as much light as possible in her life. She wrote an autobiographical account of her first full year of living in the twilight semi-vision of blindness to share her experience with others; it was also therapy to help her face the darkness. Before going blind, Debbie was an avid, even voracious, reader. She enjoyed drawing in many traditional media and painting in acrylic, gouache, and watercolor. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting, needlepoint, embroidery, beadwork, spinning, and weaving. Since going blind, Debbie has turned to audio books from Audible.com, BARD Talking Books Library, and on CDs. She crochets blankets and crochets scarves for charity. She makes paper beads to make rosaries for the missions. She has recently begun exploring resuming drawing and painting with the limitations of her vision. Debbie is an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). She is a past member of the LEO Club, the Lions Club, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the Girl Scouts, the Explorer Scouts, and the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), as well as various academic and social groups in high school, college, and graduate school. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa, and the Golden Key Honor Society. She likes to be active.