Books by author Claire Gebben
The Last of the Blacksmiths: A Novel (2014)
How We Survive Here: Families Across Time (2018).
Award Winner!
Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist.
–Review by Bobbi King at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter: “Ms. Gebben’s book is her personal journey of discovery, offering comprehensive details of her slip-ups, her breakthroughs, her unexpected findings, and the realization that across the generations and vast distances, the commonality of family experiences can bridge the divides and reconnect the broken bonds.”
–“How We Survive Here offers an inspiring behind-the-scenes look at a journey to capture a family’s story on the page. …Claire Gebben carries passion, humor, and a deep sense of care for those whose stories she will shape.” —Ana Maria Spagna, author of Reclaimers, a Washington State Book Award finalist
–“Claire Gebben’s memoir is a nice reminder of the centrality of history to a person’s self-identity and the common bonds of humanity that reach across time. The letters are compulsively readable and capture the essential familiarity of the human story, whether in nineteenth-century Germany or America, or in the same places today.” —Dr. Thomas A Kinney, author of The Carriage Trade, Professor of History at Bluefield College, Virginia
–“How We Survive Here is a beautiful meditation on the importance of paying attention to the past when it comes knocking at your door…. It is about the unexpected joys brought about by making the time and space to connect to that past. This memoir is not only about discovering mysteries of long ago, but about the growing awareness of middle age–a time which calls us to look back over our shoulder from where we came in order to see clearly where we are going.” —Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award and the Milkweed National Fiction Prize
Claire Gebben lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. Her debut historical novel The Last of the Blacksmiths (Coffeetown Press, 2014) is based on the true story of her German immigrant ancestor who pursues the American dream. Since the novel’s publication, she’s been invited to to speak at various venues on the untold stories of 19th-century immigration history, on creating legacies using family genealogies, and on research and writing. For a complete list of talk topics, click here. An adventurer at heart, she enjoys traveling, genealogy, bicycling, hiking, and even on occasion blacksmithing. Her author blog explores genealogy and immigration, German and Scottish history, Ohio history, research and travels, and tips for writing about family history.
Click here for more about the memoir How We Survive Here: Families Across Time.
Click here for more about The Last of the Blacksmiths