I had a quintessential childhood growing up in Canfield, Ohio, and was lucky to have friends from kindergarten through high school. I have a friend whom I still message occasionally online 40-plus years later.

She taught public high school for 20 years, is a published poet and author, and is the founder of The Teen Howl Poetry Series, an open mic for writers and poets under 21. If you’re ever in the Lexington, Kentucky area, go check it out! I’ve also had the pleasure of hearing my friend read her work at an open mic.  She’s animated and entertaining! 

My friend is also a really cool artist! She paints and makes cool “sunnies” (decorated sunglasses). She wears tie-dye and flowy clothes and plays the bongos. She’s seriously hip and so dang cute! The Grateful Dead and Phish are her thing. She’s also a wife, a mom, and a dog mom.  Obviously, since we are childhood friends, I follow her on Facebook, and it looks like she is a great cook! She makes no mistake about who she is. Her name is B. Elizabeth Beck. But to me and many of our classmates, she is Barbie.

A couple of years ago, she sent me one of her books titled Under the Elm. Along with the book, she wrote me a beautiful letter, which I will always keep in the back of my copy. Honestly, I put the gorgeous book on my shelf because I was in the middle of reading another title and forgot about it. A couple of months ago, she nudged me to read it. I’m so glad she did! I kept my promise. It has her personality woven through it. 

Should you read it?….YES!  Especially if you like coming-of-age stories in the late 70s/early 80s.

Two sisters, Maggie and Karen, and their parents move to the suburbs from a hippie commune. Adjusting is an understatement. The sisters not only want to fit into their new community, but their personalities are also developing into the young women they will become. Many of the situations she writes about brought me right back to middle school! 

Under the Elm is the final book in Barbie’s Summer Tour trilogy. I read the book as a stand-alone and was entertained without being confused. And check out the beautiful cover!

If you went to school in Canfield and graduated around 1986,  you may recognize some names and characters in the book. That was a fun surprise! 

I have good memories of hanging out with Barbie! She is an incredibly strong woman. Who knew after all these years writing would be our commonality? I have a feeling if we lived closer, our childhood friendship would rekindle, and she would teach me how to cook..lol