'Born of the Ozarks' highlights local resident's poetry

A box of tattered journals, spiral notebooks, and old ledgers would be the author's inspiration for a book highlighting long-time Birch Tree resident Ella Mae Brown.

Ella Mae and D.A. Brown spent most of their lives, scratching out a living on a small farm in Birch Tree, MO. But Ella Mae had a passion for two things outside of farm life, she loved nature and she loved writing. From a young age, she collected clippings of poetry and taught herself verse, and began writing poetry. In 1942 when her five sons and only daughter went to war, she began journaling.

Her journals do not talk of war though, instead, she finds the beauty of common flowers and wonderment in the lives of the birds and animals that shared her day. She describes these everyday encounters in a way only possible by someone who loved and studied nature. She saw the beauty and worth in every living thing she encountered on her little Ozarks farm.

"I never knew my great-grandparents," says author Michael Cantrell, "but when I inherited my great-grandmother's journals, I was taken by Ella Mae's knowledge of the woods, the animals, the flowers, and the birds who lived outside her door. I love to read her words and have wanted to share them for years."

'Born of the Ozarks' by Michael Cantrell is available for purchase on Amazon.

About Michael Cantrell

Michael Cantrell is the host of The Prison Officer Podcast (www.theprisonofficer.com) and recently retired from corrections after more than 29 years of service.

He is a writer, content creator, and speaker on leadership and crisis management. Cantrell is the author of 'Born of the Ozarks', 'The Prison Officer Podcast Job Guide', and a collection of short stories and poetry, 'Monotonous Chaos–The Ramblings of a Prison Guard'. His articles can be seen regularly on CorrectionOne.com.