By Marci Narum
“You gotta do what you gotta do.”
Linda Donlin and her seven siblings grew up hearing those words from their grandmother, Elsa Kutz Barry.
“She had all these sayings, and we all remember her by her sayings,” Linda explains, ‘You gotta do what you gotta do,’ ‘That's the way the cookie crumbles,’ and ‘Here's mud in your eye.’
More than her sayings, Linda says her grandmother was known for her outlook on life.
“Her attitude in life was, ‘Do the best you can. You just keep going, and it'll all work out.’
“She didn't get too excited about things,” Linda adds. “She was always supportive of all of us, and she didn't seem to worry a lot about things; she was the best grandma. She wasn't the baking, sewing grandma. She was the grandma that wore a leopard nightie in the nursing home; she had her glamor shots taken when she was 80 some years old,” Linda says, laughing.
Linda’s grandmother is gone, but her words of wisdom and her spirit live on. Linda is making sure of that. She’s in the process of publishing a book filled with the memories and advice of relatives who have passed away, including her grandmother; her father and mother, aunts and uncles, and two of her brothers.
“Each chapter begins with a story about one of the relatives and then, depending on what the topic is, I have added some of my life experiences and advice,” Linda shares. “Anything from making decisions to doing a job interview to having a baby or raising a family.”
An artist, Linda opens each chapter with a sketch of the relative. The book, called “Pieces,” was originally a graduation gift Linda wrote for her granddaughter Addison and great-niece Chasya last spring.
“I wanted it to be something that would help them remember their relatives and think, ‘Oh, maybe that's why I'm like that, because Grandma Barry was like that.’”
“There is no amount of words in the dictionary to describe how grateful I am for my grandparents and for the gift of Grandma’s book, ‘Pieces,’” Addison shares. “… I realize entire generations of family have made me who I am and are cheering me on, no matter where I go or what I do."
Now, Linda is revising the book, making it appeal to any reader, especially high school and college graduates.
“As I was writing it, I was thinking, you know, maybe it’s more than something just for family, because it’s a little bit of learning from our past but also the advice that is current.”
The chapters and advice include, “Believe in yourself,” “One day at a time," ‘Beautiful inside and out,” and “Smile and the world smiles with you.” Linda believes the nuggets of wisdom will be valuable for anyone at different stages of life.
“Pieces” is Linda’s second book. With the help of her nine grandchildren, Linda wrote and illustrated “The Magic of Medora” in August 2023 and created a companion coloring and activity book, which was released this summer.
When Linda isn’t writing books, she is a full-time artist, painting florals, animals, and landscapes in acrylics and oils.
Linda hopes “Pieces” will be available in time for graduation in 2025.
Follow Linda and her artwork on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website: LindaDonlinFineArt.
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