Edinger brings family history to life in new book
Author Susan Edinger, seated, chats with Julia Proper during her recent book-signing event at Rodhe’s Marketplace in Millersburg.
Recently, Susan Edinger, a longtime teacher in the West Holmes School District, put the finishing touches on her inaugural entry into becoming a published author in the realm of children’s books.
She wrote the book “Freedom Friends” and found a partner in artist Claudia Gadotti, who illustrated the book, which is now available for purchase.
While the book has been recently written, it has been a lifetime in the works and is something that is very close to Edinger’s heart.
Her family’s historical home in Westerville, Ohio played a role in helping runaway slave families in the 1860s find their way to freedom, thanks to the compassion and love of families like Anna Clarinda’s, the young heroine of the story who one day experiences something she has never seen before, a black family living inside the hidden space behind the family’s fireplace. She soon befriends Mariah, a young black girl who is transitioning through the area as they head north to freedom, finding sanctuary in Anna Clarinda’s family home in Westerville.
The true story of Anna Clarinda and her family’s victorious effort to help slave families find their way to freedom through the Underground Railroad has been passed down through generations in Edinger’s family, and she found great joy in bringing the story to light through this touching children’s book.
“It’s a story about my grandma’s (Anna Ruth Kent) grandma (Anna Clarinda Sharp),” Edinger said. “It’s a story my grandma told my mom and my mom shared with me, and I’ve been working on the idea for about the past decade since I retired from teaching.”
The book is a passion project for Edinger, one that has seen her work incrementally over the years, crafting the book into what it is in its finality today.
“It was time to share this story,” Edinger said. “It’s such an incredible story, and this has been a bucket list thing for me for a long time.”
The bottom floor of the Westerville home was the summer kitchen, and in it was a fireplace. Behind that fireplace was a hidden space in which the family would remove the bricks, allowing slave families to seek refuge in a warm, safe place for the night. Once inside, the family would replace the bricks and nobody would be the wiser.
Edinger said Anna Clarinda’s story explores the relationships, as they would share meals and stories with the fleeing slave families.
“We actually got to finally see all of it when they donated a family marker honoring the house and the family about 20 years ago,” Edinger said. “It was very touching and inspiring.”
The Underground Railroad system came to Westerville via Columbus, courtesy of a stagecoach with a false bottom. The traveling families would stay the night and head north to Lake Erie.
Edinger said part of the process of writing the book was listening carefully to the many stories passed down through her grandmother and others. Learning even more details came through treks to the library, where she learned more about the town’s history and her family’s legacy.
The house was built in 1857, and Edinger set the story in 1859.
“I first heard the story when I was a kid, and I’ve known for many years that it needed to be told because it played a significant role in our nation’s history,” Edinger said. “It was very personal writing it, and the process has been so interesting. I’ve learned so much throughout the whole thing.”
From the actual writing process to figuring out the publishing part of producing a book, Edinger said one thing she learned was that when a book is printed by a publisher, the author loses a lot of the control, something she didn’t want to do because she knew in her mind exactly what she wanted the children’s book to look like and how to convey its message.
She opted to self-publish, and after an arduous search to find the perfect illustrator, she found that match in Gadotti, who hails from New Zealand.
“I searched for an illustrator for a long time because I knew I wanted the book to have realistic drawings,” Edinger said. “What I wanted was someone who did really good facial expressions who could also handle light well because there is a lot of drawing in candlelight and moonlight. Fortunately, she was available when I needed her.”
Everything between author and illustrator was done online, so the two have never even officially met.
“Someday I would love to meet her,” Edinger said of Gadotti.
After plenty of edits and rewrites, Edinger said she couldn’t be more thrilled with how the book turned out.
“Some of the issues in this story from so long ago exist today, and my hope is that it conveys the message that every single person has worth, everyone is loved by God and there are people out there who are willing to go out of their way to reach out in compassion,” Edinger said.
“Freedom Friends” is currently available through Amazon, and Edinger will continue to do book signings throughout the area. It is available in paperback and hardcover and on Kindle. It is geared toward age 5-10, although the message is wonderful for anyone to read and hear.