Mountain Mama Soul Sister

                                                     Rev. Deloris Marie Foster

I Have Been Telling Stories All My Life

Long before there was a Mountain Mama Soul Sister, I was a writer.

In fact, I have been writing for as long as I can remember. As a young girl growing up in Charleston, West Virginia, I discovered the wonder of words and the power they had to tell a story, preserve a memory and touch another person's heart.

I didn't know then where that gift would take me.

As a young woman, I worked as a secretary in the office of Illinois' first State Comptroller. One of my assignments was a rather ordinary one: writing letters declining invitations to organizations and events on the Comptroller's behalf.

But I didn't write ordinary rejection letters.

I put my creativity into them. I made them warm, personal and enjoyable to read. Soon, word began coming back to the office that some of the letters were so delightful that presiding officers were reading them aloud at the very events we had declined!

My writing caught the attention of the office manager and the Comptroller himself. As a result, I was promoted and began working directly for the Comptroller as his Secretary.

Writing was already opening doors.

A Writer Becomes a Storyteller

While putting myself through college, I landed a freelance writing assignment with a Fortune 500 company, writing stories about the successes of one of its educational programs.

Years later, I interviewed local business owners and wrote public-relations stories about their businesses for Yahoo.com, before that part of its business was discontinued.

I am also the author of two published nonfiction books, with a work of fiction soon to be published.

But somewhere along the journey, the words began to move from the page to the spoken voice.

For years, I worked professionally as a storyteller and musician, bringing stories, history, music and faith before live audiences. My performances took me into venues including the Chicago Public Library, the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Science and Industry, schools, festivals and community events.

I was awarded a grant from the Illinois Arts Council to create original stories inspired by Negro Spirituals, bringing together storytelling, music, history and faith. My performances were also featured on the popular local cable television program “Jenny's Reflections.”

I was a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS) and its Chicago affiliate, ASE: The Chicago Association of Black Storytellers.

My professional storytelling history can still be found today in the Illinois storyteller directory at Storytelling.org, where I am listed under my former professional storytelling name, Sista' Joy (Rev. D. M. Foster).

View my Sista' Joy storyteller profile

Looking back now, I realize something wonderful.

The seeds of my Legacy StorySongs were already being planted.

I was learning how music could carry a story. How a story could preserve history. How the voices and experiences of those who came before us could be carried forward so they would not be forgotten.

Coming Home to My Roots

My own stories are deeply rooted in the hills of West Virginia.

I grew up in Charleston surrounded by family, church, community, music and people whose lives left stories worth remembering. My mother was a gospel singer, and the old hymns and Negro Spirituals were part of the soundtrack of my childhood.

Those Appalachian roots never left me.

Today, after a lifetime of writing, storytelling and making music, those experiences have come together in Mountain Mama Soul Sister.

Through my Legacy StorySongs, I help transform treasured family memories and histories into musical stories that can be preserved and passed from one generation to another.

Through Front-Porch Wisdom, I share spiritual teachings, stories, humor and some of the wisdom I have gathered through seventy-nine years of living.

And through my own StorySongs, I preserve the people, places, faith and history that shaped my life.

At this stage of my journey, I finally understand that these were never separate paths.

They were branches of the same tree.

From Public Service to a New Kind of Service

My journey also led me into public service.

I had the privilege of serving as a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, where I participated in decisions affecting millions of residents throughout Chicago and suburban Cook County.

That experience taught me lessons about leadership, responsibility, courage and the importance of being accountable for the trust people place in you.

Today, I carry that same sense of responsibility into my creative work.

When someone shares a family story with me, I understand that they are entrusting me with something precious. These aren't simply names, dates and photographs. They are someone's mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, child, community—and sometimes the only memories remaining of people who are no longer here to tell their own stories.

I believe those stories deserve to be handled with honesty, dignity, respect and love.

Faith Is the Root

Above everything else, my life is rooted in God.

I am an ordained minister, and through all the changes, accomplishments, disappointments, victories and unexpected turns of my life, my faith has remained at the center.

And perhaps that is why the words Remembering Your Roots mean so much to me now.

Our roots are more than genealogy.

There are the roots of our families and ancestors. There are the roots of our communities, culture and history. There are the experiences that shaped us and the people whose sacrifices made our lives possible.

And beneath them all is the deepest Root of all—God, our Source.

At seventy-nine years of age, I can finally look back and see the thread running through it all: the little West Virginia girl who loved words; the young secretary whose letters were read aloud; the college student earning money as a freelance writer; the author; the professional storyteller and musician; the public servant; the minister—and now, Mountain Mama Soul Sister.

Perhaps I wasn't starting something new after all.

Perhaps I was simply coming home to my roots.

Remembering Your Roots

Remember God.
Remember Your People.
Remember Who You Are.