Deb Burton

I love to hear about people's life stories. As an Interventional Radiology nurse I've engaged my patients in conversation as a way of ameliorating their anxiety, and I've met some of the most fascinating people. Whether the CEO of an international airline or the man who spent his years picking oranges in the sweltering Florida sun; a woman who worked with a famous screenwriter in the early days of television or a gentleman who worked his way to the top of entrepreneurship after being abandoned as a baby in a garbage can; or one of the first men of color to work in the Secret Service to a doctor still working into his nineties - their life stories transfixed me.

Many of us don't realize it, but some of the most fascinating people and stories are right in our own family. For most, genealogy represents tedious legwork as we research records just so we can plug names and dates on the branches of a tree. Our family history is so much more than that!

That is how my book, Five O'Clock Kiss, came about. A visit with my parents, where they once again shared tales from their childhoods and early married life, prompted me to begin writing those stories down. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I had no idea my Mom and Dad had done so many interesting things. The irony is, they truly thought they'd lived dull lives.

I want my book to inspire my readers, to inspire YOU, to share your life stories with family members. Don't want to write a book? You don't have to! There are so many other ways of sharing the tidbits of your family history, and I plan on using this blog to help you figure out creative ways of doing just that.

Let's be inspired together!