Dear Editors,

“Poplar Bluff” is a memoir of the fondest kinds of memories—those from childhood. It is a juicy slice of small-town American life, which includes a history of P.B., peppered with anecdotes and salted with sweet remembrances.

For several years, I spent all my summers with my grandparents in P.B., with my aunt, uncle, and cousins next door. I didn’t have that kind of luxury or history in Pensacola, Florida—the luxury of having family close by and a shared history in the place where I lived.

“Poplar Bluff” is also a coming-of-age essay, where the memories are as golden as the tones in a vintage photograph, and the present is as stark as Technicolor. It is also a love story of loss and moving on from loss. 

Poplar Bluff, as I remember it, is representative of a simpler time—before Facebook and cell phones and other devices monopolized our hours, when kids played outside and entertained themselves.

It is a story of the wonders of summer through the eyes of a child.

My parents were into genealogy during those seasons of my life, and so I have them to thank for some of the more factual content, but the parts I believe will resonate most is the story only I can tell.

I believe anyone who has ever called Missouri home—and those who have chosen it as their home—will find something worth remembering in “Poplar Bluff: A Memoir.”

About me: I am married and the mother of a five-month-old baby girl. In addition to being a full-time, stay-at-home mom, I am the unofficial family storyteller. I regularly blog on issues of freelance writing, marriage, and motherhood. My current project is a collection of children’s nursery rhymes, unofficially titled, The Treasury of the Sara Madre. I am also a member of the local writer’s group, WriteOn! Pensacola.

Thank you for your generous time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warmest regards,
Sarah Lea Richards