A Life Well Lived

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Posted on December 1, 2020

Lance Crawford

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University of South Alabama Writer in Residence Frye Gaillard鈥檚 new memoir 鈥淟ive As If鈥� A Teacher鈥檚 Love Story鈥� has been published. This work is deeply personal to Gaillard as he reflects on the life and work of his wife Nancy, who died of leukemia in 2018.

鈥淟ive As If鈥� tells the story of Nancy鈥檚 work as a public school teacher, principal and professor.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a story of what can go right,鈥� Gaillard says.

The award-winning author of more than 30 books also recounts Nancy鈥檚 extraordinary life, revealing her heroism as a teacher, chronicling her resilience, and portraying the courage of her everyday choices and actions.  

Nancy spent 30 years in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina. She began her career as a teacher during the school busing crisis of the 1970s and later became principal of a public Montessori school in that city. In 2004, she joined the faculty of the College of Education at the University of South Alabama and retired as an assistant professor in 2018, two years after earning her doctorate at the age of 67. She died later that year. 

鈥淣ancy Gaillard was an educator extraordinaire,鈥� said Dr. Andrea Moore Kent, 91短视频鈥檚 interim provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. 鈥淣ancy鈥檚 commitment to her profession was evident throughout her career 鈥� as a teacher, inspiring young children; as an administrator, mentoring colleagues; and as an instructor, teaching future teachers. She left a treasured legacy that will continue to impact countless lives.鈥�

A native of Mobile, Frye Gaillard is the author of such critically praised titles as 鈥淎 Hard Rain: America in the 1960s,鈥� named by NPR as one of the best books of 2018; and 鈥淐radle of Freedom: Alabama and the Movement That Changed America,鈥� winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award. Negative Capability Press is an award-winning independent publisher, founded by former Alabama Poet Laureate Sue Walker.

A minimum gift of $50 made towards the 鈥淣ancy Gaillard Love of Teaching Scholarship鈥� or the 鈥淎ngelia and Steven Stokes Endowed Scholarship in Creative Writing鈥� will receive a signed hard copy of 鈥淟ive As If....A Teacher's Love Story鈥� by Frye Gaillard. To make an online gift to the 鈥淣ancy Gaillard Love of Teaching Scholarship,鈥� please click here. To make an online gift to the 鈥淎ngelia and Steven Stokes Endowed Scholarship in Creative Writing,鈥� click here.

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