Debra Monroe was born on July 15, 1938 in Aberdeen, SD. She has been a professor
of English at Texas State University - San Marcos and has published numerous articles
in journals such as the New England Review, the Florida Review, The American
Scholar and the New York Times. She has written at least six books.
On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain was published in
2010. This memoir tells the author's story of settling in a small Texas town after
divorcing her husband and adopting a baby daughter as a single mom. Monroe says
she has to struggle ". . . each time a racist comment rolls their way or stares linger a
little too long in their direction" since her family was made up of a white parent with
a black child. Amazon writes that ". . . reading On the Outskirts of Normal at times feels
like driving through an unwieldy thunderstorm at night on the unlit country roads that
snake their way to Monroe's house in the woods; readers will feel her exhaustion but
will be buoyed by her ever-present faith and fiery love."