Debra Bruch

I am retired Associate Professor of Theatre and I've been writing plays since 1973. My work has been published and produced nationally and internationally, including Shepherd Witness at the Mickey Gilley Theatre at Branson, MO, Pioneer Woman by Studio Z in Chicago, and A Vagabond Peace toured New Zealand. I've also chaired a national playwriting competition for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education during the 1990s. Through ATHE, I founded and was the general editor for the peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Religion and Theatre, from 2002 to January 2006. I also have 20 years experience in directing theatre. I've been included in Who's Who of America's Teachers and Who's Who of American Women.I've written, spoken, and published academically quite a lot. I'm an ordained minister in Community of Christ and have a Masters in Religion degree.

But that doesn't really tell you who I am. I had a lot of fun and challenges writing the historical fiction novel, Echoes of the Drum. It's set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, especially the Keweenaw Peninsula where I live, and I was surprised just how much copper mining the prehistoric people did here. I was also surprised how Lake Superior was made. There's a legend about Mishipeshu, the Lake Superior dragon/panther that still resonates around here. I wanted to make that an issue throughout the book. Being fiction, I created a lot of the culture, but the book really is historical with as much research as I could find. I also wanted to honor the Native American world view and I think there's truth in it. Hopefully, that comes across.

I hope you found some hope in that emotionally difficult to read Fractured Mind. I still don't understand why I wrote it. But it wasn't for me as I feel way too vulnerable. All I know is that child abuse comes in all sizes and shapes and it needs to end. It affects a life for that person's lifetime. And I think it's important to tell it like it is.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!!