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WINTER 2013-2014
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Off The Shelf
24
Alumni, authors and siblings Russell J.
Hall, '65, and Phyllis Hall Haislip, '66,
both published novels last summer.
Russell J. Hall and Peg Rooney Hall co-
authored "Second Wind on the Way of
Saint James: A Novel." The Way of Saint
James (El Camino de Santiago) is a 1,000-
year-old pilgrimage trail in Spain and
France. Some people walk the whole
1,000 miles of it in about 50 days. The
Halls have walked 800 miles of it in five
trips, over five years.
Most books about
the Camino are
guidebooks or per-
sonal memoirs. The
authors wanted to
write a different story
-- one about the
beauty of the Way
and its ability to af-
fect nearly everyone
who walks it.
The fictional characters in the novel,
Bert and Helen, are at turning points in
their lives. The successes and failures of
career and marriage are mostly behind
them. Their anticipations, fears, regrets
and longings are not. They walk the
Camino together, unsure of what they are
seeking. Crossing the mountains and
plains to Santiago, they catch insights
about the years past and glimpses of the
third of their lives lying ahead. They need
a second wind. Perhaps the Camino will
provide one.
Russell is a retired wildlife biologist. The
book is available in paperback and Kindle
versions. For signed copies, email pegan-
druss@caminodreaming.net or order at
the Lighthall Books website.
Award-winning novelist and historian
Phyllis Hall Haislip won The Maryanne
Farley Award for Fiction and was a finalist
in the James River Writers' Best Unpub-
lished Novel Contest with her new novel,
"The Viscount's Daughter."
"The Viscount's Daughter" takes readers
back to the 12th century and an unfor-
gettable heroine who defies her husband
to take control of her life. It is the story of
the ruthless, scheming Count of Toulouse
and of a vulnerable heiress who becomes
a runaway wife.
In 1142, the medieval Kingdom of the
Franks is in turmoil because King Louis VII
cannot control his great nobles. One of
the most powerful nobles is the Count of
Toulouse. The young heiress to the rich
Viscount of Narbonne has no choice but
to marry Toulouse.
How will she escape
her possessive hus-
band, find allies, and
foil his efforts to re-
capture her?
This novel of bravery
and betrayal, risk and
redemption is based
on the life of Ermen-
garde of Narbonne
(1126?-1196), a remarkable but little-
known contemporary of Eleanor of
Aquitaine. Haislip first developed her love
of all things medieval in her classes at St.
Bonaventure and has been fascinated by
women such as Ermengarde ever since.
The book is available in paperback and
Kindle versions. For signed copies, email
Haislip at Phyllis.Haislip@gmail.com.
Dr. Estelle Wade-Crino, '66, pays trib-
ute to the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in
her book "Before and After, The Antics of
Three Franciscan Sisters."
This book portrays work, play and pray
in poetry, drawings and photos. Written in
poetry with artistic renditions and photos,
it tells how three
girls came from
different walks
of life and en-
tered a convent
to become pos-
tulants, novices
and professed
sisters within a
span of eight
years.
Wade-Crino, who attended St.
Bonaventure under the name of Sr.
Therese Colman Wade, O.S.F., entered the
Allegany Franciscan community and spent
19 years of her teaching career as a mem-
ber of this beloved community. It was in
one of her teaching assignments that she
composed her "Before and After" book.
Although she no longer is a Franciscan sis-
ter, for many years she has remained close
to the congregation and wanted to pay
tribute to their wonderful work at home
and in the missions.
The author is a retired public school
teacher, administrator, adjunct professor,
artist and writer. For the past 16 years she
has owned, and managed Pinewoods
Cottage Bed and Breakfast in Chautauqua
County. She is in the process of illustrating
a children's book that she wrote.
Danielle Marie Bergan, '75, published
her memoir, "It's Always Okay to Be Me: A
Journey to Recovering Lost Hope," in Au-
gust 2012.
"Acceptance and love are two desires
sought by every person who enters into this
world," says Bergan.
"It's Always Okay to
Be Me" is the story of
the arduous trail taken
by Daniel Bergan to
become Danielle
Bergan. Daniel, a
seemingly normal boy
on the outside to fam-
ily and friends, suffers
from gender identity
disorder (GID). His
brain tells him he is a
girl, yet he has the
body of a boy.
In his search for clarity, addiction took
over, leaving him lost in an abyss of agony
and despair. The normal life he led on the
outside was challenged constantly by
yearnings of being Danielle. A shield of de-
nial formed around her presence, as Daniel
constantly sought an escape from this gen-
der conundrum.
Robert Lindsey, '74, president and CEO of
the National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence, said the book "captures
the struggle of gender identity, clouded by
active addiction to alcohol and drugs, and
in a very powerful way documents the ex-
traordinary benefits of recovery."
CONTACT US
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brief summaries of new books, CDs and
other multimedia works published by SBU
alumni, faculty and staff.
Send a copy of the book or CD and
summary press release to:
Bonaventure magazine
P.O. Box 2509
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure, NY 14778
Materials may also be emailed to
bonalumnus@sbu.edu.