BookFest author: Margaret Kroeck

Margaret Kroeck calls herself a survivor, and she is. Many times over, she has suffered through and risen up stronger from some of the worst situations life can throw our way. She only calls herself a survivor in her author bio notes, though, and rarely elaborates on that.... until you read her books. Margaret is NOT looking for pity, which is one reason she doesn't often elaborate that she survived growing up with an alcoholic mother, who treated her children with the perplexing mix of blame, guilt, abuse, and neglect that so often is a part of families who are suffering from severe alcoholism. Margaret's dad was neglectful and often absent, until he left for good. In her twenties, Margaret married an abusive husband, because, as she herself explains, we often steer toward what is familiar, even if it is harmful for us.

In her thirties, Margaret began to find her own strength, independence, and self-worth, and she continues to build on that base. By first becoming a nurse's aide -- a job she loved and took pride in -- then by becoming a nurse, she found a job where she could empower herself and the people she worked with. She remarried a man she feels is the love of her life, who has supported her through these growing years, and through a bout with cancer. In her author bio, on the back of her books, in interviews for the press, and on websites for her publishing career, Margaret always says, "I am a survivor. I want people to know that you do matter and you do have value. Life is about choice, and my choice today is to be thankful. Throughout my life I have met a few people who inspire me, and who believe in me. My husband Larry, thank you for being my most best friend. My friends Lori, Jill, Natalie, Amanda, Charla, thank you for knowing I am worth it. My three children and grandchildren, I love you all. I am a nurse, and I am constantly humbled by my job and the people who I get to touch and learn from."



Her constant message to those she touches is that they matter. She wants to reinforce the messages that she did not get as a child. Through her work in the medical field, and now, through her writing, she constantly tells people that they are important, that their lives matter, that they are beautiful. She encourages them to find their own strength, to be grateful for what they have, and to tell their stories.

In her first book, a true memoir, published by Authorhouse in 2008, Me: The First of Many Sides of Myself...., Margaret tells her own story in a much more direct manner, and uses her hard-won wisdom to encourage other people. Her next two books, Her and Him and ...on their way... are parts one and two of a three-part fictional story, but readers who know something of Margaret's background can read between the lines to see more of her story, as well as reading a touching and gripping story of two children who begin life in two completely opposite worlds but become friends.