Wanda Easter Burch

Wanda Easter Burch, author of THE HOME VOICES SPEAK LOUDER THAN THE DRUMS: DREAMS AND THE IMAGINATION IN CIVIL WAR LETTERS AND MEMOIRS [McFarland, fall 2016] and SHE WHO DREAMS, THE HEALING POWER OF DREAMWORK [New World Library, 2003]. www.wandaburch.com. Wanda was born in Alabama, grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and presently lives in upstate New York. She received a Master's degree in museum administration in the Cooperstown Graduate Program and pursued a career in history and in historic preservation.

Please see Schenectady Today TV interview by Ann Parillo with Wanda Burch, author of The Home Voices Speak Louder than the Drums, and singer/songwriter John Kenosian, who wrote songs based on the letters in the book. The first song is "Addie Case," based on letters between Addie Case and Charlie Tenney. Addie accurately dreamed Charlie's death in a hospital in Bolivar Heights, Harpers Ferry, WV. The second song, "Angel's Lullaby," is from a dream dreamt by John Kensosian and, in a Home Voices program, illustrated dreams described by Civil War prisoners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fRMt8o8cl8&t=701s&frags=pl%2Cwn

https://youtu.be/1fRMt8o8cl8

About the Book - THE HOME VOICES SPEAK LOUDER THAN THE DRUMS:

“Soldier mortals would not survive if they were not blessed with the gift of imagination and the pictures of hope,” wrote Confederate Private Henry Graves in the trenches outside Petersburg, Virginia. “The second angel of mercy is the night dream.” Providing fresh perspective on the human side of the Civil War, this book explores the dreams and imaginings of those who fought it, as recorded in their letters, journals and memoirs. Sometimes published as poems or songs or printed in newspapers, these rarely acknowledged writings reflect the personalities and experiences of their authors. Some expressions of fear, pain, loss, homesickness and disappointment are related with grim fatalism, some with glimpses of humor.

Wanda is a long-term survivor of breast cancer; and, in SHE WHO DREAMS, shares the story of her survival and her use of dream imagery - in conjunction with traditional medical practice - in her healing journey. She presents programs on dreams and visualization as a staff member of Creative Healing Connections, Ltd. Creative Healing Connections presents arts retreats for women surviving chronic illness at venues in the Adirondack mountains and retreats for women veterans at Wiawaka Holiday House in Lake George, NY. Wanda leads individual workshops of readings and music: "The Home Voices: Healing the Spirit through Dreams and Music." All retreats are held in settings conducive to healing the body and spirit.