The January before her death in 2013, my mother Susi came to Florida to visit me. She was living in my half-sister Jackie’s Colorado home and wanted to get out of the cold and snow for a few weeks. During her visit, we both worked hard to be kind to one another. COPD and emphysema limited her activity; a trip to the grocery store sent her to bed for the afternoon. So we dallied over lunches, settled under the oak trees in the backyard and looked out over the lake.
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About Maddie Lock
Born in Germany and adopted by an American Army officer, Maddie Lock fell in love with words as she learned the English language. When her stepfather retired, the family settled in Florida, where Maddie graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in English Lit. After a brief freelance journalism career, Maddie side-tracked into the business world, eventually founding and building a successful security integration firm. After selling her company, it was time to return to her first passion of writing. Her combined love for dogs and children prompted two early readers: the award-winning Ethel the Backyard Dog, and Sammy the Lucky Dog. Focus soon shifted to creative nonfiction. Her essays have been published in various journals and anthologies, and she has recently completed a memoir.
