Joellen B. Schwallie

I wrote my first few chapters in the 1990s, and at the time my ideas about what the book was going to be about were completely different. Life was very busy then between work and taking care of my family, so I put down my pen for several years. When I picked it back up around 2019, I had completely changed my mind about where I wanted these early chapters to go. After doing research about my family on ancestry.com, my findings prompted my decision to go back in time into the 19th century and begin the story there. This allowed me to gradually move the story forward into the 1940s and 50s, which is when the originally written chapters took place. From there I was able to continue to move the family forward up into the 1970s.

I researched several articles online to educate myself about the potato famine in Ireland that took place between 1845 to 1852, resulting in widespread death across the country as well as mass immigration. Once reaching the United States, my ancestors settled in Pittsburgh, PA. I contacted a representative at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and we reviewed information about the oldest streets in the town of Greenfield, Pennsylvania where the majority of this story takes place. A link for old plat maps was provided so that I could see which streets appeared to have existing homes at different points in time from 1796 to 1993. This was extremely helpful, as I did not want to write that characters had lived on a particular street before it actually existed. We discussed the availability of plumbing in Greenfield, and I was provided with articles about the history of the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority. I also spoke with someone at the Heinz History Center about street car routes in the early 1900s, and reviewed how the residents would have gotten back and forth to and from the steel mills or into the city. 

The history took time, but that part was easy. As far as the characters, I had a general idea of which ancestral family members I wanted to include based on stories I had heard about them over the years. For example, my grandmother and her twin sister really were born at home on Halloween in 1898 and were delivered by a midwife. That story always fascinated me, and even more so after working as a labor and delivery nurse. How scary that must have been for my great grandmother! Of course, the very stormy night and the howling cat outside were a complete figment of my imagination. As was the rest of the book; it was loosely based upon their individual story lines, and yet, but much more important, those story lines were twisted and turned and very much embellished. 

I wanted the title to convey a natural affinity between the characters throughout time. I pictured a tapestry, who’s threads wove together the lives of each individual person, and yet at the same time, connected them all to each other. 

Sometimes we like our family history and sometimes we don’t. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t take an interest in it, or be intrigued by it, as long as we realize we’re not responsible for it. It’s likely that all of our family histories can both inspire us as well as disappoint us. But in the end, we’re all human beings, and are responsible for our own lives and the decisions we make while we’re here. That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t continue to learn from and be touched by those who came before us. 

I would have to say finding both the time and determination to write, as they both seemed to hold hands in creating road blocks in my life. I had more time to write after I retired from my nursing career. In addition to this, the encouragement I received from a good friend, who also happens to be a published author, helped to inspire me and foster my determination to pick up where I had left off years before and get the job done. 

Yes, most of the characters in “Glimpsing Through Threads,” represent actual members in my family, however, their names were changed to protect the innocent. My mother’s family did settle in Greenfield in the 1800s, my great grandfather worked in the steel mill and my grandfather worked for the B&O Railroad. So, this general background served as the backbone to my story, and family stories I’d heard and traditions practiced over the years inspired it’s content.  

Well, as a nurse you experience and deal with your own as well as other’s emotions every day that you work. You gain strength and empathy through each encounter with somebody’s else’s fear, pain, relief, and even great joy and excitement, such as having a baby. These experiences can’t help but affect you and contribute to the person who you gradually come to be. I can’t help but think that my own personal experiences with patients and their families contributed to the words that ended up on the pages of my book, because the emotions found there within are part of who I am.  

Part of that came naturally, because I have been around for a few decades or so, and have known many people who have been around even longer. And when I didn’t get things quite right, my editor was always eager to constructively educate me. 

My research made me realize how difficult it must have been in so many ways to live during the late 1800s and early 1900s, particularly in Pittsburgh where the Second Industrial Revolution was so much a part of everyone’s lives and livelihoods. Three of the chapters dealt directly with the loss of one of the family’s beloved members, so that felt emotional while writing it. There were also a few chapters that referenced alcoholism and the toll it took on the individuals and their families. This is no stranger to me, as this disease has harshly visited my own family as well, making this simple to write about, but difficult to tell. Through the years, though, I have learned that humor can be laced through the most difficult of times, and tried to incorporate that within whenever I could. 

I was surprised to discover through my research on ancestry.com that my great, great, great, great grandmother sailed over to the United States with her 6 year old granddaughter by herself. What courage that must have taken! My intent throughout the book was to highlight such courage and the spirit of human endurance, particularly of the main female characters. I wanted to portray both their strengths and their weaknesses, their heart aches and their senses of humor, and show how their life experiences connected and blended into each other throughout time.  

When I was young, we lived in upstate New York. But my mother made it a priority to visit family every year, even though they lived out of state. I had a close relationship with my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and even my mother’s old school friends who still lived in Greenfield. So I learned and appreciated the importance and comfort of family connection from an early age. I tried as a mother to provide for my own children that same love and appreciation for family. I guess it worked, because all three of them have settled with their own families within the same city they grew up in, not one of them more than thirty minutes away from the home they grew up in. And I know it goes without saying, that makes me a very lucky woman. 

I learned that I love to write and wish that I had started a long time ago. 

I do plan to continue to write, and look forward to sitting down with a few of the ideas I have simmering once the holidays are done. There’s nothing like a cold January day to wake up your brain and get your creative juices flowing. 

My experience with AllAuthor has been both supportive and encouraging. When I have had questions about the process and what to expect, my emails have been answered promptly and thoroughly. I appreciate the tweets that are posted routinely on Twitter, and the continuous updates via email regarding new information about other authors on the site. It also provides numerous opportunities to follow other authors and to be followed in return. And of course, AllAuthor provided me with this interview, which was a fine opportunity, indeed.