By: Diann Floyd Boehm
Rise! A Girl’s Struggle for More is based loosely on my Grandmother Ruby Pearl Terrill’s early life and her dream of becoming a businesswoman as well as a wife and mother. It was a lofty goal for a girl born in 1904 in a place that would become known as Oklahoma in 1907. It was a time of great change with the discovery of oil and the introduction of the first automobiles.
Women were a different breed then for sure. To survive in some parts, a woman needed to know how to shoot a gun for protection, sew, cook, clean, can, and if you lived far from the city, you needed to know how to deliver a baby and keep it healthy. Women also married between 14 and 16 years of age, and college was rarely even considered.
As a children’s author, I have visited schools to do presentations in all grade levels. I have heard young people say, “What is the use to dream when it is unattainable?” I couldn’t help but think about my grandmother in the mid 1920’s actually realizing her dream without the help of her parents or anyone else. She was determined and worked hard. Hearing similar concerns over and over again from different parts of the world disturbed me. I believe that you have to dream; you have to know you can be the person you are meant to be.
Inspiring younger generations
I never dreamed I would write a chapter book, much less a young adult historical fiction, but doing these school visits and hearing young people talk about how hard it is to dream of the future, when going to college or university is so expensive, made me stop and think. They complained that even if they continued their education beyond high school, so often, jobs in their field of study were scarce, and most employers wanted experience, so why bother?
When students share these fears with me, I think to myself, wow, being so young and thinking there is no hope for success was not a world I could understand. To me, dreaming of achieving and learning is how I grew up.
These conversations really stuck with me. So much so that I thought more about my Grandma Ruby’s life and what it took for her to reach some of her dreams, and I wanted to know more. I spoke with my mom and told her I had an urge to write a book to inspire young people.
Getting writing
My mom loved the idea, and one day we met for lunch and continued the conversation. She told me even more stories that Grandma had felt I was too young to hear when I was a child visiting her. She told me what it took for Grandma to go to college at a time when girls were just expected to get married and start a family as soon as they finished high school, if they even got that far with their education. When I listened to mom telling more stories of my grandmother, who secretly stashed away money and planned her “escape” after high school to go to college, I knew that youth of today would benefit from the message woven into her story.
My mom filled my head with inspiration and encouraged me to begin writing the book. I had fun with each chapter. It was hard work, especially researching the history to ensure the accuracy of what I was presenting. My mother and I even visited the towns of Oilton and Drumright, Oklahoma and Chillicothe, Missouri, where my grandmother eventually did go to business college. As I researched and wrote, I would share insights of what I learned about the time period, and my mom became as excited about the book as I was.
I hope it captures a reader’s attention and leaves them with the belief that they can dream big and with hard work, dreams can come true.
Author bio
Diann Floyd Boehm is an international children’s author, having lived in Dubai for 14 years and is now based in Texas. Diann has always enjoyed the art of storytelling and has taken her imagination to print so she can share her stories with more children and families around the world.
Diann is the author of five children’s books, and her first YA novel, Rise! A Girl’s Struggle for More, was released on October 20, 2021, all partner published with OC Publishing. One of her books, Harry the Camel, was translated into Arabic and won the 2020 Authors Marketing Guild Award for Best Children’s Book – Foreign Translation.
Her most recent children’s book, Moonling Adventures-The Serengeti, won the Texas Best Children’s Book Award in 2021. Diann also started a YouTube channel in 2020 called The Story Garden, where viewers can enjoy the author reading her books, interviewing other authors, and highlighting their books.
Her creative flair encompasses the performing arts as well, having performed in musical theatre productions in Dubai produced by Popular Productions out of the UK. Diann enjoys making guest appearances on the radio and in-person where she encourages young and old to embrace their imagination.
Diann is not only an author and educator but also a wife and mother of three. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but grew up in Texas with five brothers. She has traveled extensively to many parts of the world. She has a Bachelor of Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and has taught elementary school both overseas and stateside.
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Thank you for the wonderful review! When I read that someone has enjoyed my stories or their child wants to read the story again and again, it makes my heart sing.
Thanks for sharing your book with my readers, and keep up the great work!