Trio of Alumni Authors To Sign Books at USAO

Books on domestic violence, a children's book about an elf named Juniper and a story about a family facing hearing loss will be featured as three alums of the University of Science and Arts join together to sign books and talk about their work on Nov. 7 at the college.

Authors Dr. Ellen Taliaferro, Dr. Nancy Hector and Shanna Groves will be featured during an alumni book signing from 4-6 p.m. in the USAO Bookstore. Although a part of Alumni Homecoming, the book signing is free and open to the public.

Registrations for Alumni Homecoming are being accepted for all USAO/OCLA/OCW alumni at the USAO Alumni Development Office, (405) 574-1290. Registration packages for the entire weekend are $50, which is an all-inclusive package that includes all meals.

Dr. Ellen Taliaferro is a 1961 graduate of the Oklahoma College for Women (now USAO). She was named to the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002. Taliaferro earned an M.D. from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine in 1966.

Taliaferro serves as the medical director of the San Mateo Medical Center Keller Center for Family Violence Intervention in California. She speaks and writes on the healthcare impact of violence and abuse and conducts workshops for providers who work with victims of violence so that they can avoid the occupational stress of compassion fatigue.

For healthcare professionals, she co-authored The Physicians Guide to Domestic Violence, The Physician's Guide to Intimate Partner Violence and Respond to Intimate Partner Violence -- 10 Action Steps You Can Take to Help Your Patients and Your Practice.

For survivors of violence and abuse, she has written WellWriting for Health After Trauma and Abuse, which teaches survivors of trauma and abuse to use a form of directed, expressive and autobiographical writing to improve their health and well-being.

Author Nancy Hector will be on hand to sign copies of her book Juniper. Dr. Hector is an associate professor of education and coordinator of field-based experiences at USAO.

"The book is about Juniper, the elf who couldn't do anything right," Hector said. The 103-page book is published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises.

Hector has been a faculty member at USAO since 1998. She received her bachelor's degree from the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts (now USAO) in elementary education/early childhood education in 1972. Hector earned a master's degree from Phillips University in Enid in education and a doctoral degree in child and youth studies from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Before joining the USAO faculty full-time, she worked as an adjunct faculty member at the college. She also has served as a teacher, director of school and director of preschool at Epworth Christian School in Chickasha and as a teacher at Alex Public Schools and Rush Springs Public Schools.

Dealing with progressive hearing loss since she was 27, 1996 graduate Shanna (Bartlett) Groves did what any good writer would do -- she wrote a novel. Groves' experiences inspired her novel, Lip Reader.

"In the book, a rural Oklahoma family faces hearing loss, deafness and communication challenges in the early 1980’s," Groves said. "Twelve-year-old Sapphie Traylor describes her relatives with vivid detail -- her mother who lives in a fantasy world, a grandmother born deaf, a stern preacher-grandfather, and an aunt fluent in sign language but lacking in social graces. It is up to Rea's young daughter, Sapphie, to solve the mystery of her mother's secret life while finding the courage to forgive."

Groves has written about her hearing journey in Hearing Loss Magazine, The Kansas City Star, and A Cup of Comfort for Nurses. Lip Reader is her first novel. More information about Lip Reader is available at http://shannagroves.blogspot.com.


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Authors Dr. Ellen Taliaferro, Dr. Nancy Hector and Shanna Groves will be featured during an alumni book signing from 4-6 p.m. in the USAO Bookstore during Alumni Homecoming at USAO Nov. 6-8. Registrations for Homecoming are being accepted for all USAO/OCLA/OCW alumni at the USAO Alumni Development Office, (405) 574-1290. The book signing is free and open to the public.