Maureen Wlodarczyk (www.past-forward.com) is an author, columnist, genealogist, speaker and admitted history and genealogy addict. She is a member of the Irish American Writers & Artists organizati...view moreMaureen Wlodarczyk (www.past-forward.com) is an author, columnist, genealogist, speaker and admitted history and genealogy addict. She is a member of the Irish American Writers & Artists organization along with several genealogical societies. She was selected for a 2014 and 2015 Excellence-in-Writing awards by the International Society of Family History Writers & Editors (ISFHWE). Maureen currently writes a genealogy column "History & Mystery: Perfect Together" for the e-magazine Garden State Legacy (gardenstatelegacy.com). She is also a contributing writer for the genealogical e-magazine Irish Lives Remembered (www.irishlivesremembered.ie).
Beyond researching and writing about her own family history, Maureen searches for true stories of people and events lost to time, rediscovering and sharing those tales through her books, magazine articles, and her presentations to genealogical and historical groups. These fascinating stories of 19th century Americans, including immigrants, entrepreneurs, social activists, and "regular" people persevering in the face of daily challenges, transport us in a time machine to days long past, intriguing and informing us while bringing context to our own lives. Her 6 books are:
Birthless: A Tale of Family Lost & Found - a novel about the power of friendship. Is it ever "too late" to confront long-kept secrets and life-altering decisions? Author and Genealogist Maureen Wlodarczyk takes us on a heartfelt journey from New York to Scotland and Ireland with three women whose friendship helps them face a reckoning with the long-concealed secrets of their youthful pasts. Memories of first love, young motherhood and painful decisions are resurrected as each of them searches for reconciliation and peace after decades of self-imposed silence. What awaits them are unexpected discoveries that will redefine their understanding of love, loss, motherhood, friendship and the meaning of family.
Scarlet Letter Lives - a work of historical fiction inspired by the true stories of the owners of three 1850s copies of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter: a Mississippi boy of thirteen who, along with his two brothers, is destined for the battlefields of Virginia during the Civil War; a New England sea captain's daughter, newly-married and living in Alexandria, Virginia when that war breaks out; and a transplanted Virginia man living in New Orleans who must flee the Union occupation there. Thei...view less