marykaythill

"I decided it was time to help on a wider scale and write a book that would help children heal. My inspiration came from a blend of my work with orphans, passion and dedication for the Lakotah Indian tradition and my own spiritual quest," stated Thill. "I have always wanted to work with orphans, so writing this book was a continuation of this desire."
Thill became involved with a charity called Friends of the Lakotah years ago. Members help those living in the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Thill was invited to a Sundance ceremony, which few outsiders have been allowed to witness and she developed friendships with the people there.
"The ceremony was powerful. Like walking back a hundred years. The Lakota at the ceremony treated me as a sister and still do," Thill added. "It changed the ending of my novel."
Thill has woven the Lakotah (Sioux) Indians current day struggles of life on the reservation in her novel, "Wablenica (Tale of a Lakotah Orphan)."
"Toward the end of the book my main character, Rose, travels to the Pine Ridge to meet her mother's cousins. They live in a trailer on the reservation. Rose stays for awhile and learns more about being a Lakotah and how poor the people are on the Pine Ridge. I now know it is one of the poorest places in the United States," added Thill.
"I was concerned that when the native children read my novel they wouldn't like being depicted as poor, but they told me it was the truth. If more people know, they can help," she said.
Thill has helped by donating hundreds of books to the schools on several reservations in South Dakota.
Did she take fragments of her experiences to create the background history of her character Rose?
"Rose is more well adjusted than most of the children that I have treated over the years. She had parents that loved her for the first 12 years of her life. Most wards of the state never had parental love, so they suffered what is clinically termed attachment disorder," Thill explained. "This means it is difficult for them to trust or feel love. Rose is the happy ending I didn't see very often. She learned from her pain and moved forward."
Rose's tragedies began with her father's death and just one year later, her mother's. Growing up without parents or a family to care for her was painful.
"Another tragedy in her life was that her mother was too ashamed to teach her Native American traditions. Fortunately, Ruli (Running Under Lightening), her guardian angel, came along to teach her.
Rose's grief lands her in a deep depression. She withdraws and denies her loss, initially. Then she becomes very angry and self-loathing.
"These are the normal stages of grief. With help from her guardian angel and new friends, she is able to learn how to self nurture and be proud of who she is and that is not an orphan," Thill said. "Often parents deny their grief and shelter their children from death. Death is another part of life. If we deny or fear death outwardly, our children, not understanding this is just part of life, will suffer."
Wablenica (Tale of a Lakotah Orphan) took Thill a year to write and another year to rewrite and edit. She started Balance Books Inc., which is a sister company to Balance Counseling Center.
"It took a year filled with research and hard work to get the book released in the spring of 2004," she said. "I learned more about books than I ever thought I would. "I have a solid marketing plan, as any new business should so I'm promoting Wablenica locally, nationally and internationally."
Her promotional efforts include book signings, newspaper, radio and television interviews and workshops on self-esteem and dealing with grief.
Thill is currently writing a non-fiction novel titled "Love is the Greatest Gift of All." The workbook focuses on how to love yourself and how this reflects on loving your children.

Wablenica is available through amazon.com or Mary Kay's website at: www.balance-books.com