Next on my must read list is Gardenia Transplanted by Faye Christopher Fuller and Dwain Gordon Fuller. I first met Dr. Dwain Fuller, a Dallas retinal surgeon, when I worked for CooperVision Surgical Inc. an ophthalmic company in Irvine, California. At the time, I was Product Manager for the vitreoretinal product line. Over the years, while working in the eye care field, I crossed paths with Dr. Fuller on many occasions. 

In 2020, I was sad to learn of his retirement from Texas Retina Associates where he had been an integral part of the practice since 1977. His medical career had spanned 58 years with 50 of those in ophthalmology. When I asked him what his retirement plans were, our conversation led to a mutual interest: writing.

Dr. Fuller was a creative writer in college, and he planned to resuscitate a novel his mother, Faye C. Fuller, had labored over for a long time without finding a publisher. The setting – the Texas Panhandle in the late 1800s and early 1900s – immediately grabbed my attention, for I had fallen in love with my adopted state after relocating from California to Texas.

Synopsis: “Gardenia Transplanted is a carefully researched historical novel that tells the compelling story of an Alabama Southern belle, Lorinda Parker, who falls in love with a handsome young farmer struggling to survive along with his sister, Kate, in the harsh Texas Panhandle in the late 1800s. Both brother and sister have a troubled past that they would rather forget. Kate initially despises her new sister-in-law, whom she considers a parasite, until they’re both confronted with a throat-slashing rapist. Lorinda hates the primitive life on the prairie but is held captive by the love for her husband. She often wonders if God consigns sinners to live in the Panhandle as a foretaste of Hell.

The story records the dramatic evolution of the Texas Panhandle from buffalo slaughter fields to large cattle ranches that slowly morph into huge grain fields, soon to be spotted with oil derricks. The story graphically depicts tornadoes, blinding dust storms, stampedes, deadly prairie fires, a bizarre murder, and raw human emotions. This page-turner is hard to put down as the story speeds along to a shocking conclusion.”

Just the mention of the Texas Panhandle sparked memories of my first road trip from Alabama to Oregon to attend college in Eugene. The route we chose took us through the southern part of the US, where I caught my first glimpse of the Texas Panhandle. Then, we drove through New Mexico and Arizona. These stark terrains spoke to me and I fell in love. 

Much later in life, I had the same soul-stirring reaction when I first set eyes on the Caprock Escarpment of Palo Duro Canyon. The experience rekindled fond memories of hiking the Mighty Five in Utah, as well as the red sandstone regions of Arizona and New Mexico, building on my fascination with barren landscapes. In so many ways, these arid but beautiful topographies reminded me of Namibia in southwest Africa where I had lived as a young adult.