MSI Press Blog

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver The apple orchard was our front yard—if any place on a farm can rightly be called a "front yard." It was the stretch of land across the dirt driveway from the farmhouse, bordering the winding country road that separated our upper fields, corral-pasture, clothesline, house, and orchard from the lower fields, the swale, and the pine woods beyond. In one far corner of the orchard, under a stand of birch trees, alongside the road, lay the tiny, timeworn Prescott family cemetery. May they rest in peace, whoever they were. The birches partially screened the orchard from the road, adding to its at-times quiet charm and at-other-times privacy for boisterous play. The apple orchard was the hub of our lives. Besides giving us apples, pears, and even cherries—it was, in truth, a mixed orchard though we always called it "the apple orchard...

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication) from  My 20th Language  by Betty Lou Leaver, Ph.D. -- Study Abroad Unlike many—if not most—of my foreign-language-learning peers, I never had the chance to study abroad during my university years. I attended college on a full scholarship, and that scholarship money could not be used for study abroad programs. If I wanted to go abroad, I would have had to pay my own way. As the eldest of eight children of a shoe-cutter and a part-time farmer, that was simply not possible. I was already working nearly half-time just to afford clothing and cover expenses not included in my scholarship. So, I learned my languages in the classroom. And I held my own—often outperforming those who had studied abroad. By the time I completed graduate studies in comparative literature and later enlisted in the U.S. Army, I had reached Level 4 proficiency in two languages and Level 3 in another two, as measured by the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT...

When people hear that we live with a large and peaceful cat family, their first question is often, “How do you manage to get them all to get along?” The second is, “Aren’t some of them from the street or shelters?” The answer is yes—our family includes cats born feral, cats adopted from shelters, and cats who were clearly abandoned by former owners. Integrating them takes time and care, but with the right approach, they can not only settle in, but thrive as part of a loving feline household. Over the years, I’ve come to notice distinct differences—and some striking similarities—among these three backgrounds when it comes to adoption and integration. Understanding those patterns helps enormously when preparing to bring a new cat into an established family. 🐾 Different Beginnings, Different Needs Feral Cats These are cats born outdoors, often to generations of unsocialized cats. They may never have had a positive interaction with a human before being rescued. They tend to rely hea...