Author Description

Product Description What if... sometime in the twenty-first century a grown woman found herself lost inexplicably sad. What if... three generations of female ancestors those she knew while she was growing up, materialized to help her find her way. What if... they were joined by another ancestor, a Paleolithic mitochondrial DNA cave artist who lived in northern Spain 12,000 years ago. What if... these ephemeral women disrupt Mim s life and perceived sanity as together they wander their respective histories and ancient caves. What if...leaping across time, they land in their own depths and glimpse the seamless nature of time and existence. What if... back in 21st century Loveland, Colorado, Mim s friend Ellen frantically protests these improbable encounters. What if... in the end, her ancestors lead Mim to a sense of her own wholeness and the knowledge that she is never alone. And that is, perhaps, what family time really means. Review Mim Neal's book, Family Time, is an inventive tale that weaves itself around the idea of a parallel universe. Mim's female ancestors materialize from antique frames and become the village she desperately needs to see her through. Family Time is a well put together story that makes you long for that conversation you never had with your dearly departed. --Olivia Lowe, Loveland Historian and Columnist Neal has discovered a totally delightful way to be haunted by her ancestors and entertain readers with those spectral encounters, while wrestling with personal tragedies of the kind we all encounter on our journeys through life. She may have just created a new genre: fantasy memoir! --Gary Raham, prize-winning author/ illustrator Family Time is a thought-provoking, beautiful, and hopeful story -- humorous in just the right weight to maintain a balance against the hard and painful. Each character is developed carefully and clearly enough to allow the reader to know them