Sue Kelly Ballard Kicks Off History Matters Speakers Series

Author Sue Kelly Ballard brought Rebecca Boone out of the shadow of her famous husband, Daniel Boone, with her historical novel, My Blessed, Wretched Life, Rebecca Boone’s Story. Motivated by various reasons to capture Rebecca’s life story in print, Ballard wanted to show, “Kentucky pioneer life through the eyes of a pioneer wife and mother and honor her contributions to the building of our nation.”

In honor of Women’s History Month, Ballard will present a program about My Blessed, Wretched Life, Rebecca Boone’s Story on Tuesday, March 19 at 6:30 pm at the Carnegie Library Center, located at 731 College St. This program is free and open to the public, and presented in collaboration by the Shelby County Historical Society and the Shelby County Public Library.

Randell Jones, author of In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone and Trailing Daniel Boone, said of Ballard’s book, “Rebecca’s own story, as imagined creatively by Sue Kelly Ballard, is so captivating, so gut-wrenchingly realistic, so obviously genuine, we begin to acknowledge who really moved America westward: our pioneer mother ancestors.”

Other programs in the History Matters Speakers Series include: April 23, Paul Sims, retired US Secret Service agent who served under President Clinton; May 7, Squire Boone, presented by Mike Harrod; and June 4, Stuart Sanders, author of Anatomy of a Duel.

Ballard will have copies of her book for sale and to sign. For more information contact the Shelby County Historical Society at (502) 513-5555 or director@shelbykyhistory.org.