A Dickens Of A Life by Dan Walters of Margate.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE - Resident Dan Walters recently completed a memoir of his life growing up as an orphan, educator and husband, entitled, A Dickens Of A Life, which has been published through the BookBaby Publishing Company.
Walters is one of the founders of the Margate Business Association and its Daniel and Maria Walters Scholarship Program, which began providing scholarships in 1999 through the MBA's Educational Foundation Fund. To date more than $110,000 has been awarded in their name for Margate students to complete their education.
Walters spent 40 years as an educator and retired from the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District. He was supervisor of five departments at Absegami High School and was honored for his years of service on a Wall of Honor dedicated to him.
His autobiography has been years in the making and depicts his journey through life beginning as an abandoned child who made his way through the foster care system and as a ward of the state.
Dan Walters
He lived in numerous homes until he was taken in by Dorothy and William Brown of Nesco, a childless couple whom he said, were an important key to my growing up. At times he was separated from his brother and sister, but eventually all were reunited under the Brown's roof.
My life really began when I was nine, Walters said. Before then, I bounced around from house to house and never knew what the next day would bring.
In the book, Walters recounts vivid experiences and influences that shaped his life. He dedicated the book to his teacher Hilda S. Frame. A little red schoolhouse in Mullica Township bears her name and now serves as the Mullica Township Historical Society Museum.
A Dickens Of A Life,' as told through his eyes, reveals both bright and dark moments, and his coming of age to become an accomplished educator. Segments of the book include a collection of personal writing deftly woven into an inspiring narrative as he wrestles with the question of how a mother could abandon her children.
I'm really an essayist. A few of the pieces in the book are essays that still hold up after all these years. They can stand by themselves, but it works in the memoir because they all have a link to family.
One chapter recalls a trip to the heart of Italy with his wife Maria as she searched for her family members.
It's very special to me because it's based on family, he said.
At first, Walters thought he would have a small, targeted audience, but as the book progressed, he realized there are many readers who would appreciate his life story because it revolves around developing family relationships.
Everyone can relate to that, he said.
Although Dan and Maria Walters have no children of their own, they have very close relationships with his brother and sister's children. They also have an extended family in the students they taught, and the children of the community. They live in Margate.
A Dickens Of A Life is available for pre-sale through BookBaby, Amazon, GoodReads, Barnes and Noble, and Target. It will be available in both paperback and an e-book format. The book will be released as an ebook on Sept. 1. It is also available for purchase now at Paper Chase in Margate.
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