Finally, to Gary: I wouldn’t be here—quite literally—without you. I asked you over and over and over if I could write a novel. You never wavered in your support. You never said I was crazy. You never told me to stop. You said, “You can do anything, and you will. Dream big. Write small.” You have often joked that you are “my muse.” Well, I have news for muse: You are. And you are my heart, soul, spirit, codependent copilot and love of my life. Here’s to the next chapter. And the next …
As much as The Charm Bracelet celebrates my love for my grandmothers, it also celebrates my love for Michigan, its beauty and its people. Michigan isn’t just the place where I live. It’s also a main character in my writing. It is as real and human and alive and breathing as any of my protagonists. I am my best in Pure Michigan, author, human, husband.
And a final note regarding the poem in The Charm Bracelet: Over the years I spent writing this book, many friends sent me photos of their charm bracelets as well as the stories behind their charms to inspire me. Some sent poems that had been given to them by their mothers and grandmothers. Oftentimes, though the poems varied, some of the lines were the same. I pulled some of those beautiful lines together to create the poem, and then, thinking there might be an author behind it since there were so many similarities in what was sent to me, went in search of the poet. But I could never find an attribution. The closest I could come was a link on Yahoo Answers many years ago, in which someone had asked for a poem to go along with a charm bracelet they were giving their stepdaughter. I reached out to the person who had posted that poem, which also contained similar lines, but never received a response. I also posted the poem far and wide, but never found the source.
About the Author
VIOLA SHIPMAN is a pen name for Wade Rouse, a popular, award-winning memoirist. Rouse chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, to honor the woman whose charm bracelet and family stories inspired him to write his debut novel, which is a tribute to all of our elders. Rouse lives in Michigan and writes regularly for People and Coastal Living, among other places, and is a contributor to All Things Considered. To date, The Charm Bracelet has been translated into nine languages. He is at work on his second “heirloom novel,” which will be published in 2017.