Diane Dettmann has never been at a loss for words. In fact, she was writing when she was five years old. She taught in the St. Paul Public Schools for thirty-seven years before retiring. During the last six years of her career, Diane became a Literacy Staff Development Coach where she facilitated teacher training in areas of both reading and writing instruction. Her educational
experiences have equipped her with many great skills. As an elementary teacher, she attained National Board Certification, earned her Master’s Degree from Hamline University and has taught literacy classes at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
After the sudden death of her fifty-four year old husband, Diane started to pen a book about her own personal grief experience. After seven years of starts and stops, she published her memoir Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow’s Story of Love, Loss and Renewal (Outskirts Press). With honesty and clarity, Dettmann provides insights into her daily struggles and the sheer reality of her grief. Her heartfelt story has inspired hope in many readers. Discovering new meaning in their own life, readers realize they can face a devastating loss, rebuild their lives and find joy in life again as they move on alone or with someone new.
Diane and her aunt, Miriam Kaurala Dloniak, coauthored, Miriam Daughter of Finnish Immigrants (Outskirts Press), a memoir about her Finnish grandparents coming to America and settling in rugged northern Minnesota where they raised seven children during the Great Depression. The book reveals the strong values the Finnish immigrants had for education and is being used as a social studies resource in the St. Paul School District. Since retirement, Diane actively supports various projects both local and national. She is a contributing author for “Women’s Voice for Change,” a nonprofit organization focused on women’s issues, and “Open to Hope,” a national grief foundation founded by Dr. Gloria Horsley. Diane, also, donates a portion of her book sales to the “American Widow Project,” a non-profit organization that provides support to military families that have lost loved ones in war. Diane enjoys presenting her books at various events, facilitating writing workshops and traveling. She’s currently working on her first novel inspired by a friendship she had in the 1950’s with a Japanese girl. After almost sixty years apart, Diane recently reconnected with her dear friend via
Facebook!
To purchase a book or for more information about Diane Dettmann go to:
http://www.outskirtspress.com/snowangels
https://www.amazon.com/author/dianedettmann
Books also available at Barnes & Noble online, in their Twin City bookstores
and at various local independent bookstores.