Giving Voice to Dawn

Ellie’s recurrent dream of shattered lives and scattered possessions hints at adventure for those brave enough to light out. With nothing to lose, but lacking a plan, the 30-something denizen of a corporate cubicle leaps from the edge of her known world and sets out on a magical quest for happiness. But is she prepared to travel 150 years back through the mists of time to find what she seeks?

It’s 2013 in the gridlocked suburbs of Washington, DC. Ellie is trapped in the doldrums, living an unbearably stagnant life that holds her year after year at the very edge of depression. She’s a corporate analyst who has buried her wild imagination under an endless stack of statistical models and status reports. She knows she needs to seek out her true life purpose and cultivate some joy, but an uncomfortable lack of confidence and the fear of being abandoned by friends and family are holding her back.

When a mysterious mentor befriends Ellie on a DC Metro train, she’s challenged to think beyond the visible world and explore the realms of karma, reincarnation, and her own prophetic dreams. With a new perspective but no firm destination in mind, she steps out on her quest and immediately falls into an aimless wander. Realizing she needs companionship on her journey, Ellie reaches out to her best friend Neil, a leadership executive with a secret desire to strap on a real sword and lead a real expedition into real battle. Although he initially rebuffs her, when Ellie blacks out and has a clear vision of a chaotic Civil War battle, Neil jumps at the chance to hit the road and help her find the battlefield she saw. What unfolds is a mystical road trip back to 1862 and a long forgotten incident that might just hold the key to happiness for both Ellie and Neil.

Beautifully written and meticulously researched, Giving Voice to Dawn traverses the veil between past and present to reveal undying connection and a reason for hope.

Linda S. Gribko was born in Oregon and raised in rural Maryland—in the middle of nowhere, but just twenty miles from the galleries and museums of downtown DC. Although never setting out to be a writer, Linda always wrote. As she wound her way through an unplanned life that included degrees in wildlife management and forestry, she leaned into the production of research articles, landscape maintenance plans, and business reports—leaving behind the quirky animal stories and satirical essays of her youth.

In 2014, having recently quit a perfectly good job in business analytics, she outlined a book about tree communities as analogs for human behavior. Before she’d written a complete chapter, however, fate intervened in the form of a poetry prompt. In response, she wrote Holding Back Her Song, a poem about stepping out of the shadows to express yourself. The outline for the tree book immediately hit the shredder. Two years later, she published her debut novel, Giving Voice to Dawn: A Magical Tale of Self-Discovery, which just happens to include an animal story or two and a bit of satire. A companion workbook, How to Uncover Your Donkey: A Workbook to Help You Excavate Your Own Unique Life Purpose, was released in June 2017.

Her current works in progress include a blog, Hawk Finds Her Wings, and a sequel to Giving Voice to Dawn, which will explore the challenges of actually living as a newly discovered self.

Linda currently lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with her crazed apricot terrier, Phoebe, and an entire room full of orchids. In addition to writing, she’s also a photographer and artist, best known for her wildflower photographs, pen and ink drawings, and nature mandalas—digital illustrations created from her own original photos.