A father’s rejection, a mother’s silence, and a child’s decision to live on her terms.
What if the most critical conversations in your life happened in the spaces between words—in diary entries never meant to be read, in letters never sent, in documents that capture the truth we can't always speak aloud?
In 2019, eighteen-year-old Dale flees small-town Alabama with $3,200 and a broken heart. When Dale's viral Facebook post about "complicated grief" sparks a national conversation about family healing, she discovers that her greatest pain might become her greatest purpose. As she learns to turn survival into service, Dale realizes that some stories can only be told by living them first.
This isn't a story of heroes and villains. No one is all right or all wrong—not Dale, not her family, not the church, not the community. Through documents that reveal multiple perspectives, readers must decide for themselves who deserves compassion, who earned forgiveness, and what love looks like when it's complicated.
A Woman Named Dale is an unforgettable epistolary debut about family healing, chosen community, and the courage to live authentically. Some people are born loud. Dale Morrison was born written. And her story will change the way you think about family, faith, and finding your way home.
Content Note: Contains themes of family rejection, religious trauma, transgender discrimination, molestation, grief, and physical/emotional abuse within a story that ultimately celebrates healing and hope.
Published Works and Where to Find Them
“Can I Rely on You?”
Published in the 2019 edition of Understory, a University Alaska Anchorage annual anthology of achievement, “Can I Rely on You?’ concerns narration styles and the importance, advantages and disadvantages of reliable versus unreliable narrators in literature.
“We Who Demand Better”
Published in the 2019 edition of Understory, a University Alaska Anchorage annual anthology of achievement, “We Who Demand Better” is a manifesto, a call for action demanding the increased and equal representation of all people, particularly in the fields of education, literature, and art.
*“Southern Shadows”
Published in the 2019 Fall issue of the Alaska Women Speak (AWS) Journal, “Southern Shadows” is a nonfiction depiction of what it means to be a “southern woman” and how I don’t fit that mold.
*This publication also received a Pushcart nomination; one of the very first made by AWS!
There is Us; an Anthology
The There is Us anthology was born from a desire to find a tangible way for small creators to help with COVID-19 relief efforts.
The hope is that even while sales from this collection are going to organizations providing much-needed aid around the world, the pieces inside will uplift and soothe the souls of those trapped inside and longing for human connection.
Faces to the Sun; a Mental Health Anthology
An anthology of #ownvoices stories.
This is a powerful collection of short stories, poetry, and art that explores mental health in all aspects. The focus is on helping people who have mental health concerns.