Welcome to my author website!
I’m glad you’re here and hope you’ll be able to linger awhile. As a teacher for over thirty years, I spent each day surrounded by young children and good books. I loved to meet authors and hear their stories, but it wasn’t until I retired that I began to seriously write myself. I guess you could call me a late bloomer. Writing has opened a new world of relationships, learning and adventure that I found I love. So be my guest. Come on in!
Fondly,
Barb
Looking for an inspiring adventure?
Step aboard as my husband, Gene, and I paddle the tandem kayak we built from the Headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Experience the moods and magnetism of America’s greatest waterway and the kindness and generosity of folks who live alongside it. Pause with us to volunteer with charitable organizations in quaint river towns and be inspired by passionate people from all walks of life who give their time and effort to support and encourage others.
All of the author profits from the sale of this book are donated annually to the charities we served on the trip. You can find more information about this memoir, including photo galleries and an interactive map of our journey at www.paddleforapurpose.net.
Some Exciting News
Poem Collection to be Published by Finishing Line Press
Mississippi Meanderings
My collection of 30 river poems, Mississippi Meanderings, will be available soon from Finishing Line Press! I’m delighted for the opportunity to work with such a fine publisher. You can visit their website and order your advance copy here. I’d be honored if you would considering helping me out by pre-ordering a copy for yourself or for a friend. Stay tuned for details!
The poems in this collection are musings about our experiences as we traveled down the “Big Muddy” and the Tenn/Tom Waterway from Itasca, Minnesota to Mobile, Alabama. You’ll be awed by river wildlife and sand island sunsets, fascinated by mammoth barges and pearl button factories, and entertained with poems of mishap and moonshine.
I hope the photos I’ve included here and on the Mississippi Meanderings page will whet your appetite for more!
Our Latest Adventure
After paddling the Mississippi, Gene and I temporarily traded our paddles for pedals and reignited our love of bicycling. The past eight summers, we’ve biked near home in the Great Cycle Challenge to help support the Children’s Cancer Research Fund and have hosted cross-country cyclists through the Warm Showers organization. (You can read more about these organizations on my Charity Spotlight blogs at http://www.paddleforapurpose.net.) For our latest adventure, during the spring and summer of 2022, we left Key West to ride our bikes up the East Coast Greenway Trail to Calais, Maine. We posted about our trip at https://fb.me/2OldFolksOnBikes. Considering our user name above, we took our time: meeting people, seeing the sights, and collecting lots of story and poem ideas along the way.
Appearances
- On February 12, I appeared as a guest on The Exchange Show, a virtual collaboration of authors, podcasters, speakers and supporters. The show is hosted by the lovely and talented Berthanna Oxendine, life coach, pastor and bestselling author. You can watch it here. You may also enjoy other episodes of The Exchange Show, as I have, on FB at The Exchange Network or on YouTube.
- My first podcast experience was this past summer with Maria Lucassen, host of an Apple Podcast called Women Seeking Blissful Retirement. Maria was intrigued not only by our kayak service trip, but also by my desire to write about the trip and how it opened up new horizons for me offering opportunities in writing and volunteering. Maria is a delightful host and I’m sure you would enjoy listening to many of her other podcasts, as well. You can find my podcast here.
Author Barb Geiger 