Dear Shirley

A new book by Margie Taylor, coming late 2026

Can you call yourself a writer if you’ve never been published?

For Shirley, giving up writing was akin to signing her own death warrant. From the time she was ten, she knew she wanted to write. When an invitation arrived to sign up for a correspondence course through the University of Oklahoma, she threw herself into it wholeheartedly. Her body, though, had other ideas. No sooner had Shirley begun her first lessons than she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The disease moved quickly: within a few years her speech was impaired, she was unable to stand or walk, and her ability to do even minor household tasks was limited.

Through it all, with the support of her husband and her university mentor, she kept writing. Dear Shirley is a recreation of her life told through her stories, journals, and letters. It is also my attempt to keep a promise I made to her more than 60 years ago. Set in the turbulent decades of the mid-twentieth century, it is a story of courage, perseverance, and, above all, hope.