Available Now . . .

Take a dive into history . . .

Tag along with World War II pilot George Geib as he sails across the Atlantic on a luxury-liner-turned-troop-transport, drops glider planes across enemy lines, is fired upon by anti-aircraft weapons, and attends the Nuremberg Trials.

Order today on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Folks-Letters-1943-1946-World/dp/1662953771/

Learn more at: https://www.sandygbenson.com/order-dear-folks-today

Now Available . . .

MY MOTHER’S KEEPER: ONE FAMILY’S JOURNEY THROUGH DEMENTIA

My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey through Dementia is a memoir that follows the last three years of my mother’s life. I kept a journal throughout the experience and afterward, I realized that it was a story worth sharing. 

Orders for “My Mother’s Keeper” are now available through Amazon!

Most people, at some point in their lives, confront issues with aging parents. Whether the problems are medical, financial, logistical, or emotional—or some combination—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless.

When my journey through parental dementia began, I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. I should have sought information about Alzheimer’s disease earlier. At first, I didn’t even recognize it as an illness. Once I found myself up to my neck in a nightmare, I had no time for research. I spent every waking moment coping, reacting, and scrambling. I was simply too exhausted to do more than try to put out each fire as it flared.

Later, once the crisis subsided, I found several books, articles, and websites that contained helpful information about dementia, its associated behaviors, and care suggestions for patients. What I didn’t find were stories of how families coped with it. By sharing my experience, I aim to help fill that gap. This book tells my family’s story of rapidly accelerating personality changes, aggression, violence, fear, mistakes, hopelessness, helplessness, and eventual closure. I hope it will help readers who find themselves embarking on a similar journey understand that they are not alone.

ORDER HERE

(Note to bookstores and libraries: This title can also be ordered through Ingram Spark, ISBN 978-1-7370206-0-8)

March 2025

The Wonderful Walnut

March 21 is celebrated as the International Day of Forests. The Society of American Foresters newsletter notes: “In 2025, ‘forests and foods’ is the theme for the day, celebrating the crucial roles of forests in food security, nutrition and livelihoods. In addition to providing food, fuel, income and employment, forests support soil fertility, protect water resources, and offer habitats for biodiversity, including vital pollinators. They are essential for the survival of forest-dependent communities, particularly Indigenous Peoples, and contribute to climate change mitigation by storing carbon.”

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20/20 Hindsight

The current state of national and international affairs causes me to reflect on how dramatically my outlook on life has changed over the past seven decades.

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February 2025

Signs of Spring

The first daffodils of the season greeted me from a sunny, south-facing roadside cut this morning, despite low temps in the upper teens and lower twenties over the past few days. I closely inspected a couple of other known locations and found plants several inches tall, getting ready to bloom. And over the weekend, while bundled up in a warm winter jacket as I walked in the woods, I saw my first wood thrush of the season. A reputable website assured me that these birds have been documented around here this early, even though they aren’t supposed to arrive until April. Boy-howdy, did I ever need these reminders that, even in the darkest of times, springtime will come.

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Sharing Dad's Story

The second half of last Saturday’s Scribes on Stage event, An Evening of One-Act Plays, featured local authors reading their works at the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville, North Carolina. I had the honor of sharing two of Dad’s letters home from World War II, in which he wrote about crossing the Atlantic on the luxury liner-turned-troop transport Queen Mary in 1944, and his day observing the Nuremburg trials in 1946.

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You're Invited to . . . An Evening of One-Act Plays

Add a postscript to your Valentine's Day celebration next Saturday evening! Treat your sweetheart to a night at the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville, North Carolina! Enjoy an evening of reader’s theater with local actors and playwrights delivering entertainment at every turn!

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January 2025

Let’s Hope This Is Only a “Pause”

The new administration has “paused” funding for federal grants across the board, including those previously approved to assist rural communities in becoming better prepared to deal with wildfires. Reports indicate that some analysts believe that “pause” is a euphemism for “cancel.” If that is correct, then this action will effectively crush what has been a heartening commitment by local leaders in states both red and blue to try to get a handle on an increasingly out-of-control, climate-boosted environmental situation that now regularly sparks ever-more-destructive wildfires that kill, maim, and render people homeless. And it’s not just in California.

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Small Blessings Can Light the Way

A sense of dread overwhelms me on the eve of America’s first coronation. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I do know that I am afraid. In a conscious effort to be grateful for the small things that can brighten such moments, I’ll share with you something that happened this morning.

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Urban Wildfires on My Mind

A classmate of mine lost his home in the Los Angeles-area wildfires. My heart goes out to him and his family, as well as the thousands of other folks who suddenly found themselves homeless. It surprised me that the fires burned across regular suburban neighborhoods as well as the chapparal-covered hillsides where luxury homes nestle—and burn on a regular basis.

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Making Change(s)

Recently, I stopped by my insurance agency. A personable young man sat behind the reception desk, chatting with another customer. He greeted me with a smile.

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December 2024

My Year in Books: 2024

I read thirty-seven books in 2024, six fewer than last year. The list does not include four books I started reading but didn’t finish. Nor does it include the gazillion or so articles, newsletters, and white papers I’ve read about current events. This is the primary reason I neglected to read what interests me most. I’ve spent countless hours wringing hands and grieving about what appears to be the collapse of our world. I’ve already done what I think I can do to counter that, but I finally recognize that it is beyond my power to change things on a macro scale. My new year’s resolution is to focus on the micro scale. Little actions can make a difference. I’m up for that.

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Dear Santa . . .

My friend, Mary Ricketson, graciously granted me permission to share her Christmas article that appeared in her monthly column, "Woman to Woman," in December 2024, in the Cherokee Scout, Murphy, NC. Thank you, Mary. I echo your sentiments.

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Hopes for the Future

Earlier this year I discovered Persimmon Tree, an online magazine of the arts by women over sixty. Its publisher says, “Too often older women’s artistic work is ignored or disregarded, and only those few who are already established receive the attention they deserve. Yet many women are at the height of their creative abilities in their later decades and have a great deal to contribute. Persimmon Tree is committed to bringing this wealth of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art to a broader audience, for the benefit of all.”

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Ho-Ho-Ho!

Folks are closing in on holiday preparations. Our local writers’ groups have been busy with book signings, and I’ve been working hard to get Dear Folks into area bookstores. I’m humbled by the kind words and encouragement from new and old friends, near and far. Dad would have been flabbergasted at the interest his letters have stirred up, and he would have been proud to see our book so well-received. Thanks to all who have supported this project!

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Another Book Signing Is Under Our Belts

My partner in crime, Carroll Taylor, teamed up with me again yesterday for a book signing at Tiger’s Store and Chinquapin’s Ice Cream and Soda Bar in Hayesville, NC. Sunshine and warmer weather brought out holiday shoppers to browse, chat, and (of course) enjoy sweet treats. I highly recommend their Roadrunner Raspberry ice cream! What fun to meet new people and share our latest books. Here is a link to my books.

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2024 Northwind Writing Award

I am pleased to announce that I received an honorable mention in Raw Earth Ink's 2024 Northwind Writing Award competition, non-fiction category, for an excerpt from my first book, My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey through Dementia.

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November 2024

Local Authors Turn Out for Annual Makers Market

‘Twas a chilly Black Friday in the western North Carolina mountains. My writer friends, Lorraine Bennett and Carroll Taylor, joined me at Hayesville’s Beal Center for a fun day with holiday shoppers. We appreciated the indoor setting and festive colors—and the opportunity to share our latest books with everyone. Details about my new book, Dear Folks: Letters Home 1943-1946 World War II, can be viewed here.

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