Patrons stopping by the Spalding Memorial Library Saturday had a chance to meet Linda Besley, a retired Athens Area School District special education teacher of 22 years, who has written a new family tale, The ‘Tivity.
Besley’s book depicts the story of the family nativity she and her husband, Richard, set up for her granddaughter Alaina and her triplet-siblings Elizabeth, Leah and Scott. The title was inspired by Alaina, who used to call the nativity the ’tivity when she was younger.
“I wanted to write a story for my grandchildren so they would remember ‘The Happening,’” said Besley, “and then I decided it wasn’t a long enough story, so we decided to put on a live nativity in our shed across from our house. So I did the child’s viewpoint and the adult’s viewpoint, and that’s how the book meshed together.”
This nativity not only involved dress-up, but also incorporated animals from neighboring farms as depicted through the pictures printed in the back of the book.
“It was a slow process because I would start it, then I would put it aside and say, ‘I’ll do it later,’ and then my husband would say, ‘You really have to get on this,’” said Besley. “But my best friend has been battling cancer for three years, and she said, ‘Linda, you really need to follow your dream because I want to read this before I pass.’”
Aside from the support of family and friends Besley was also helped along the way by a writer’s conference she attended in Montrose a year ago and by Bonnie Bell, a local artist who provided illustrations for the story.
Besley hopes her story conveys the importance of parents and grandparents sharing their faith with their children, adding that it’s a story for everybody.
Besley thanked the Spalding Memorial Library for hosting her book signing.
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Matt Hicks can be contacted at matthicks@morning-times.com.