Diane Wilson – författare

"One day I realize that my entire back seat is filled with relatives who wonder why I'm not paying more attention to their part of the family story. . . . Sooner or later they all come up to the front seat and whisper stories in my ear."Growing up in the 1950s in suburban Minneapolis, Diane Wilson had a family like everybody else's. Her Swedish American father was a salesman at Sears and her mother drove her brothers to baseball practice and went to parent-teacher conferences.But in her thirties, Diane began to wonder why her mother didn't speak of her past. So she traveled to South Dakota and Nebraska, searching out records of her relatives through six generations, hungering to know their stories. She began to write a haunting account of the lives of her Dakota Indian family, based on research, to recreate their oral history that was lost, or repressed, or simply set aside as gritty issues of survival demanded attention.Spirit Car is an exquisite counterpoint of memoir and carefully researched fiction, a remarkable narrative that ties modern Minnesotans to the trauma of the Dakota War. Wilson found her family's love and humor—and she discovered just how deeply our identities are shaped by the forces of history.

"Far greater even than the loss of land, or the relentless coercion to surrender cultural traditions, the deaths of over six hundred children by the spring of 1864 were an unbearable tragedy. Nearly one hundred and fifty years after the U.S.–Dakota War of 1862, Dakota people are still struggling with the effects of this unimaginable loss."Among the Dakota, the Beloved Child ceremony marked the special, tender affection that parents felt toward a child whose life had been threatened. In this moving book, author Diane Wilson explores the work of several modern Dakota people who are continuing to raise beloved children: Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan, an artist and poet; Clifford Canku, a spiritual leader and language teacher; Alameda Rocha, a boarding school survivor; Harley and Sue Eagle, Canadian activists; and Delores Brunelle, an Ojibwe counselor. Each of these humble but powerful people teaches children to believe in the "genius and brilliance" of Dakota culture as a way of surviving historical trauma.Crucial to true healing, Wilson has learned, is a willingness to begin with yourself. Each of these people works to transform the effects of genocide, restoring a way of life that regards our beloved children as wakan, sacred.

My main purpose for writing Visions is because these are some of everyday experiences that happen in ones life. Poetry, stories with the creativity of words flowing, I combined into one manuscript; hoping maybe to change other''s life in a positive way. I personally feel that we must process a great passion in the work we choose to excel greatly and do our best work; I always enjoy words, and their expressions. You just have to keep knocking until you find your pot of gold and never give up until you achieve your true Destiny.

A 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Big Reads SelectionWinner of the Minnesota Book AwardA haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family’s struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most.Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn’t return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they’ve inherited.On a winter’s day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband’s farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.Honors for The Seed Keeper: Winner of the Minnesota Book Award in FictionA BuzzFeed "Best Book of Spring"A Literary Hub “Most Anticipated Book of the Year”A Bustle “Most Anticipated Debut Novel”A Bon Appetit “Best Summer Read”A Thrillist “Best New Book of Spring”A Ms. Magazine “Best Book of the Year”A Books Are Magic “Most Anticipated Book of the Year”Named a “Most Anticipated Book of the Year” by The MillionsA Daily Beast “Best Summer Read”

This tale of mind control, the use of fear to manipulate vulnerable people, and final escape from a suffocating cult environment is a revealing exposeof a secretive contemporary sect, as well as a true psychological thriller. Diane Wilson spent twenty-five precious years of her life, first becoming indoctrinated by the dogma of the Watchtower Society, and then struggling to free herself from its pervasive, intimidating clutches. In this probing, brutally honest assessment, Wilson describes how a childhood of psychological abuse and lack of self-confidence rendered her vulnerable to the seductive doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses.What she reveals about the goings-on within the closed Watchtower Society will shock the average person who assumes the polite, well-dressed people who pass out leaflets are much like any other conservative religious group. Wilson contends that membership in the Jehovah's Witnesses requires obedience bordering on psychological enslavement and complete suppression of individuality. Her engrossing memoir will be of great interest to former Witnesses, students of cult phenomena, and anyone who has ever had contact with Jehovah's Witnesses.

"A stunning achievement."—MOLLY IVINSIn 1989, an EPA study revealed that Calhoun County, on Texas’s Gulf Coast, was the most polluted place in the United States. Even before the report came out, Diane Wilson knew that the fish were hurting, and so were the people who caught them for a living. Most people were willing to overlook the problem. Wilson was not. Facing crooked politicians, corporate lawyers, and vengeful neighbors, she set out to save both her town and her way of life.

"Outstanding in all ways, this title deserves a place in most collections and adds a wonderful opportunity for upper elementary students (and higher!) to unpack our complicated histories."—starred, School Library JournalWe come from stardustour bodies made of ancient elements.We come from single cellsevolving over billions of years.We come from place, language, and spirit.And each of us comes from story.We all come from something. In this unique collaboration, four authors lyrically explore where they each come from—literally and metaphorically—as well as what unites all of us as humans. Weaving together their individual stories, they explore place, ancestors, movement, struggle, determination, and hope.Powerful poetic text and richly layered illustrations bring together past and present, creating an accessible and visually striking look at family, history, and identity.

"Outstanding in all ways, this title deserves a place in most collections and adds a wonderful opportunity for upper elementary students (and higher!) to unpack our complicated histories."—starred, School Library JournalWe come from stardustour bodies made of ancient elements.We come from single cellsevolving over billions of years.We come from place, language, and spirit.And each of us comes from story.We all come from something. In this unique collaboration, four authors lyrically explore where they each come from—literally and metaphorically—as well as what unites all of us as humans. Weaving together their individual stories, they explore place, ancestors, movement, struggle, determination, and hope.Powerful poetic text and richly layered illustrations bring together past and present, creating an accessible and visually striking look at family, history, and identity.

Growing up, Ella Cara Deloria loved listening to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. As an adult, she recorded many Native American peoples’ stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people’s language for future generations. From recording stories to writing stories of her own, learn all about the life of Deloria.

Growing up, Ella Cara Deloria loved listening to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. As an adult, she recorded many Native American peoples’ stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people’s language for future generations. From recording stories to writing stories of her own, learn all about the life of Deloria.

Carrie Cavender Schommer grew up in a home where Dakota was spoken, but going to school where everyone spoke English kept her from sharing her love of her Indigenous language. As an adult, Schommer spent decades teaching Dakota language and culture at the University of Minnesota and in her home community. From her childhood to her achievements as an educator, explore the inspiring life of Schommer.

Carrie Cavender Schommer grew up in a home where Dakota was spoken, but going to school where everyone spoke English kept her from sharing her love of her Indigenous language. As an adult, Schommer spent decades teaching Dakota language and culture at the University of Minnesota and in her home community. From her childhood to her achievements as an educator, explore the inspiring life of Schommer.