In February 2012, it will have been 10 years since I published my book, The Houses That Sears Built. Writing that book was a labor of love, but it was also an incredibly intense experience. By Christmas 2001, I had nearly finished the manuscript.
For our Christmas vacation that year, our family (my husband and three daughters) had planned to fly to Portsmouth, Virginia to visit our families. (We were living in the St. Louis area at the time.)
About three weeks before the holidays, I decided to cancel my plans and stay home and finish up the manuscript. I was on a roll, and after two years, it was time to put my nose to the grindstone and get it done. But one of those “little voices” told me that this was an important trip, and that I needed to stick with the plan and spend Christmas in Portsmouth.
On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with my mother. We were so happy to see her, and spend time with her. And I had a surprise. I’d just had a big article published in a national magazine. She was so proud of me, and asked me to read the article out loud to her, which I did. My dear mother looked at me and just beamed.
“My beautiful daughter,” she said with a big smile. “My beautiful famous daughter. I’m so proud of you.”
And at that moment, I almost slipped and told her my secret: My new book was going to be dedicated to her, Betty B. Fuller. The inscription would read, All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always clung to me.
It was a quote from Abraham Lincoln and it described exactly how I felt.
Throughout my life, my mother’s prayers had been such a blessing and support. She was always my #1 cheerleader and my dearest friend.
That night, when we left her house, I told her that we’d be back in just a few hours - on Christmas morning! She hugged me tight and started swaying side to side a little bit, while whispering in my ear, “My beautiful daughter. I love you so much.”
The next morning, she didn’t answer the door and she didn’t answer the phone. I used my key to get into the house and that’s when we found her - still in bed - ashen and barely breathing. She never regained consciousness, and died a short time later.
Twelve days later, I returned home, hardly able to think about that book of mine. Suddenly, it seemed so completely unimportant. However, I eventually pulled myself together enough to finish it and take the manuscript to the printer.
That was February 2002. Later that month, my husband of 24 years told me that he now understood Paul in the Bible, and that like Paul, he realized he was not the marrying kind. He asked for a divorce. And so ended a relationship that had begun in 1968. I’d met Tom when I was in third grade.
I moved out of the family home, and into a low-rent singles’ apartment and tried desperately to start a new life.
The Houses That Sears Built - was more than just a book. It became my raison d’être, literally. The book - and the career that came with it - gave me a sense of purpose and pride and unspeakable joy. Less than 60 days after its publication, I was interviewed for a feature article in the New York Times. That was a wonderful break.
Next, I was invited to appear in a new show being developed for PBS, tentatively titled, The History Detectives. From there, I ended up on A&E’s Biography, CBS Sunday Morning News and more. In July 2004, my book made it to Jeopardy!
By Summer 2006, I’d done more than 500 interviews and had appeared in almost every national newspaper in America, including, Christian Science Monitor, Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. In June 2006, my story appeared in the Wall Street Journal - front page - and above the fold! That was the coup of my career.
And in Summer 2006, I met Wayne Ringer. Six months later, we were married.
I’ve always believed in God’s timing, and the timing of this book’s publication and the start of my new life could not have possibly been any better.
And it was FUN. I traveled all over the country and was a featured speaker at countless venues and seminars and preservation conferences and I was treated like a queen. I really liked being treated like a queen!
The book - and the career that followed - restored my soul and healed my shattered self-esteem. Divorce is tough.
In 2004, I traveled to a small town in the Midwest, and stayed at a Marriott Hotel. The organizers of the event had made all the arrangements for me, and that was always much appreciated. When I checked in at the desk, the clerk looked up from her computer screen, smiled at me and said, “You’re Rosemary Thornton?”
I said, “Yes,” and she reached her hand across the counter and said, “Can I shake your hand? I’ve always wanted to meet a real author.”
It was (and still is) one of the best memories of my career.
And it all started with one little self-published tome on Sears Kit Homes. Ten years ago, this month.
Only 3,000 copies of this "first edition" were sold, and by then, I'd written an updated version, which has been in print since February 2004. The first edition (now out of print) fetches a handsome price.
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In May 2006, I gave a talk in Jefferson City, Missouri. While in Jefferson City, I had my first telephone conversation with Wayne, the man who'd become my husband.
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In 2010, "The History Press" contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in writing a coffee-table book on Sears Homes. "The Sears Homes of Illinois" was the result, and this was - without any doubts - my last book on kit homes.
To learn more about kit homes, click here.
To see the kit homes of Norfolk, click here.
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