About Mandy Syers
I received an MFA in writing from Emerson College in 1995. After finishing a novel, I worked as an editor for a technology website.
When my grandmother became sick, she said she wanted to tell me her history. I got a tape recorder and we sat on her couch and she told me about her life -- about her childhood in Europe, about coming to this country through Ellis Island, and about her hopes for the family. I edited the story, bound it into a book, and gave it to her for what I thought was her last birthday.
For the next three years, she kept the book by her bedside, showing it to everyone who came to visit her. At her funeral, I read a portion of her story in which she spoke to the family about the importance of helping each other and staying together. It was as if she was right there talking to us, and it had a powerful effect on the people that were gathered there. Afterwards, everyone wanted to know where they could get a book like that. That was how Heirloom Books was born, combining my love of writing, editing, hand-bookbinding, and most of all, people's stories.
Heirloom Books media coverage
· Spotlight, Rhode Island Monthly, Feb 2003
· Article, Providence Journal, Feb 2002
· Radio interview, Brown Student Radio, Nov 2001 (requires RealPlayer)
· As pictured in Robb Report, Sept 2000