Fia Sylvan
My story is one of overcoming circumstances, persistence in the face of despair, and hope. On a deeper level it is also about changing the narrative. The narrative that rising from poverty and trauma to power and fame is noteworthy and laudable, but the many of us who rise from poverty and trauma to working class survivors, are not. We are.
How much harder is it to never have your courage and persistence rewarded, acknowledged, or even simply understood? Our stories are rarely heard, because we lack the fame or money to tell them.
I currently work full-time in healthcare and did so throughout the writing of this book, which took over 20 years to complete, due in part to the painful nature of some of the memories and the complexity of learning how to write a book with very little formal education.
I’ve worked in fields as varied as healthcare, horticulture, construction laborer, logging, wildfire education, professional painter, retail clerk, Iditarod dog handler and horseback riding instructor.
I have volunteered with many organizations over the years, including CAVA - Citizens Against Violent Acts, Literacy Volunteers of America, The Wetlands Conservancy, Cascadia Wild. As well as First Responder work as a volunteer EMT and several years with Oregon State University Master Gardener's Association, as a Master Gardener. My interests always wide ranging and centered around caring for my fellow beings.
Plants, animals, books, and all things outdoors continue to be central themes of my life.
Fia Sylvan is a pseudonym adopted to protect myself and others, whose lives and secrets are exposed in my book. Fia is a derivative of the Latin "Sophia", meaning wisdom, and Sylvan is also from Latin (sylvanus) meaning "of the woods". Words which hold a strong connection to both me and the story told.
This book was born from my lifelong love of reading and the inspiration taken from reading similar memoirs. I hope to share in the tradition of giving voice to the voiceless and bringing darkness into the light.
