*Written with Veridion Smart

We like to think of ourselves as independent beings, charting our own paths, free from the weight of the past. But the truth is, every story we live and every story we tell carries the fingerprints of the generations before us.

When I began writing WHISPERS THROUGH TIME, I didn’t set out to write about ancestral trauma or generational memory. But the characters had other ideas. Sierra’s journey isn’t just her own, it’s a continuation of her mother’s, her grandmother’s, her great-grandmother’s. It’s about the visions passed down, the truths hidden in silence, and the courage it takes to break cycles that began long before she was born.

The more I wrote, the more I realized this: ancestral stories are never really gone. They live in our DNA, in our habits, in our wounds, in our laughter. Sometimes they arrive as dreams we can’t explain. Sometimes they sit quietly in the corners of our families, shaping us even when no one speaks their names.

Modern fiction often celebrates the individual hero, but ancestral storytelling reminds us that no one stands alone. We are part of a larger thread, woven together by those who came before and those who will come after. That’s both humbling and empowering.

When readers step into Sierra’s world, I hope they feel that thread tugging at them, too. Maybe it will remind them of their own grandmother’s wisdom, or of a story told at a family table that never quite left them. Maybe it will help them see that even the pain we inherit can be transformed into resilience and strength.

Because here’s the truth: when we honor ancestral stories, we’re not just looking backward. We’re carrying those voices forward. And in doing so, we make sure they keep whispering into the future.