Cindy Fox’s first childhood memory is standing in her crib, wet and cold, on a frigid Minnesota morning. Her new book, “Black & White,” begins at that moment and follows her through her life growing up on a dairy farm in northwestern Minnesota where the only things that ever changed were the seasons and a new set of chores.

In this short story memoir collection, each story is woven into the next via a winding personal narrative following the seasons of her life. She takes us from memories of her upbringing, through her teenage years amidst the sweat and never-ending farm chores in the 1950s and 1960s, always yearning to escape the daily grind. After leaving home, she encounters triumphs as well as mistakes in her journey of independence and self-discovery.

During her later years she takes a refreshing honest look at her own life. Remembering somber realities of life’s inescapable cruelties and misfortunes, she portrays each setback as a learning experience, a hard lesson learned, her thoughts no longer seen in black or white, like her younger self.

One story, “Crisscross,” took first place honors in creative non-fiction when it was initially published in The Talking Stick, a Jackpine Writers’ Bloc annual anthology based out of Menahga, Minnesota. The judge’s comments reflected her engaging writing style: 

“I love the charged language in this piece…the way the images and meanings fold over onto each other…this rich, intensifying use of language is the reason I chose this piece for the prize.” 

Fox writes from the heart, yet captures humor through the eyes of a child, a teenager, leaving home, and growing old. Reflections of her country life have also captured people doing good deeds, life lessons people can learn from.