Sylvie Denied

After leaving her family home and respectable birthplace, Deborah Clark Vance set out to find what made the world tick. Inspired by Thoreau's advice to simplify, she explored self-sufficient living. She learned to identify edible plants and medicinal herbs, gaining confidence that she could survive in the wild as long as there was a woods and the weather wasn't too cold. She attended the University of Life where she learned to cherish those who prefer truth. She raised four children and cobbled together a living by selling paintings and freelance articles, copyediting and translating, selling plants and designing gardens, working on radio documentaries and a kids' TV program, teaching at an outpatient program and finally as a university professor after earning a PhD in Intercultural Communication at Howard University. Her family and friends near and far live with her in her heart. This is her first novel.