About Theresa Hupp

Welcome to Story & History: One writer’s journey through life and time. The posts on this blog are about family, history, and writing . . . or about whatever else I encounter in life. The journey isn’t always what we expect.

In the years I have been blogging thus far, I have dealt with my mother’s Alzheimer’s and death, my father’s sudden death just a few months later, my children’s launch into adulthood (though they managed that themselves; I just watched), and accomplishing my dream of publishing Lead Me Home, a novel about travel along the Oregon Trail. I have written about all these topics, as well as about growing up in Washington State, my family’s history through the generations, blogging, and writing.

I have been (and sometimes still am) an attorney, a mediator, and a Human Resources executive and consultant.  These experiences also creep into my posts, when my story requires them.

And because my novels are about the settling of the American West, I also post about the Oregon Trail, the California Gold Rush, and related historical topics.

I typically post every Monday and Wednesday.

Please join me on my journey through life and time, and post comments to tell me about your own journey. You can subscribe to the blog directly (via email or through WordPress) or follow me on my Facebook Author Page.

For more about my writing and publications, please see the “Publications & Awards” page or my Amazon Author Central page.

I also take on editing and freelance writing assignments.  If you are interested, please contact me at mthupp@gmail.com.

Thank you for your interest in this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

26 Comments

  1. Dear Theresa, thank you for following my From the Lou blog! Yours looks fascinating. If you’re coming to St. Louis sometime please let me know! I’d love to take you to Henri Chatillon’s home in the Cherokee Historic District. That is unless you’ve already been there! Regards, Maureen

  2. Thanks for hopping on my blog; I am enjoying yours! I just learned how to insert pictures before I posted my “Trails” piece and I was delighted to find an actual picture of the ruts from the Oregon Trail wagons in the public domain. Best to you on your project re: the Trail which, of course, is of great interest to me. I was born in Upper Michigan, but when I was 11, my family moved to Oregon. Early in my marriage, my husband and I moved back to Wisconsin (where his family lives) for six years, but then came back out here. This state is the best, as far as we’re concerned.

    I don’t know what sorts of stories you might include in your collection, but I’ve always found the stories of the first two white women to cross the “Great Divide” fascinating. Eliza Spaulding and Narcissa Whitman were both missionary wives. You may be very familiar with the Whitman massacre, the story of what happened to Narcissa and her husband and entourage. She had a disdain for the local tribes and I believe this added to their great resentment of her and her husband and their “mission.” Of course, the Whitman Mission was also an important stopping off point for Trail families. Eliza Spaulding and her husband, however, were a completely different kind of missionary team. They loved the coastal tribe they worked among and were in turn loved by the people. How important it is to do what we do for the right reasons…

    Anyway, I look forward to your entries on this topic and will enjoy others.
    Cheers,
    Phyllis Nissila

  3. Theresa,

    I admire your journey. I enjoy learning about history through your posts.

    I’ve nominated you for the One Lovely Blogger Award.

    Information is on my site: http://lindajoycecontemplates.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/one-lovely-blog-award-nomination/

    The Rules: One Lovely Blogger Award:
    ■Thank the blogger who nominated you.
    ■Tell 7 things about yourself.
    ■Post the One Lovely Blogger Award picture in your post.
    ■Nominate 15 other blogs for this award and notify them of their nomination.

    I look forward to enhancing my history knowledge from you.

    Smiles,

    Linda Joyce

    • Linda, thank you so much! I will pass on the honor to others, but it will be after Thanksgiving before I can — I have to write about my 35th wedding anniversary first (it does take precedence)
      Theresa

  4. Thank you so much for starting to Follow me Theresa – and now I’m one of your Followers. Your Bio interests me very much. I am on the brink of writing my 1st novel. It’s scary, yet exhilarating at the same time. I look forward to perusing your articles, and your publication list. Cheers to you and yours!

  5. Theresa,
    I’ve had your blog on my mind. Thank you for stopping by my blog a couple of weeks ago. It’s always a wonderful feeling to have someone like something on your blog and thank you so much for becoming a subscriber. I just finished perusing your blog. What a wonderful find! I think the subject matter you write about is so interesting and fascinating. i saw a couple a weeks ago Ken Burn’s Dust Bowl documentary. Not the same thing but his documentary reminded me of you. I look forward to reading more of your posts and your writing publications.

    Best,
    Nareen

  6. That makes two people in St. Louis who would love to see you. I’m putting your blog up on my toolkit for writers which is more updated on wp.org than wp.com
    Cheers to you as well, Maureen.

  7. Hi Theresa,

    I love the way your blog brings together family history (past and present), with dashes of philosophy and tech stuff thrown in for good measure.
    It is still early days for my blog, but I ultimately hope to achieve something similar. Thank you for starting to follow me.

    After my mother passed away last year, I have found blogging to be not only helpful and healing as an outlet for expressing my emotions, but it is also turning into a way to explore and document my family’s past. My parents came together under rather unique circumstances (at least in comparison to other 1960s BC families), and one day I’d like to write their full story.

    I’ve been so impressed with the writing in blogs such as yours! I hope to learn from you experts while finding my own voice.

    All the best,
    Ian B.

  8. Pingback: Setting the Setting by Theresa Hupp author of Now I’m Found | A Writer of History

  9. I’ve just found your blog, which I’ve enjoyed reading. I enjoyed your post on the memoir writing course. I’d love to write a memoir – one about the wonderful two years I spent at a girls’ boarding school in the 1970s, and one about the last five years when we bought a boat and sailed to Greece. We now live aboard our yacht in a Greece for most of the year., and had lots of adventures. I love writing and have had some freelance work accepted in sailing magazines. Do you have any good hints for beginning a memoir?

    • Georgie, thanks for writing.
      I’m not a memoir expert, and I don’t know if I’ll ever write a book-length memoir. I prefer writing novels and these shorter, often nostalgic blog posts.
      I’ve seen onlne memoir courses listed on both WOW! Women On Writing (www.wow-womenonwriting.com/), and on Creative Nonfiction (https://www.creativenonfiction.org/). Since you travel, these might be good options for you. Or check out a writing conference near where you are and see whether they have sessions on writing memoir. Based on the studying I’ve done, memoir needs a theme and a story arc to hold it together.
      Sounds like you’ve had some writing success already. Good luck with your memoir project.
      Theresa

  10. Pingback: Artist’s Chat with Theresa Hupp: The History of Frontier Travel in America - Gar LaSalle

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