Submitted photoSelf-published author and Meridian native Laurie McCrary Jameson with her novel The Waystation.

Self-published author and Meridian native Laurie McCrary Jameson released her first novel – The Waystation.

Jameson, who graduated from Meridian High School in 1978, said three things are at the heart of The Waystation: grace, forgiveness and redemption.

“It is a mixed genre, think hard crime fiction meets spiritual suspense, so it doesn’t fit smoothly into any particular genre,” Jameson said. “However, it is a very unusual read and I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from readers.”

Jameson describes her novel as a cross between hard crime fiction and a spiritual parable.

The Waystation takes you on an odyssey from the darkness of this world, to the serenity of the afterlife. It carries you from the ugliness of the drug business, racism, abuse, and murder, to the joy that comes when all that ceases to matter. Existing as a stopping point on the journey between life and death, The Waystation is a place to rest and prepare for your real life to begin.

Jameson said she was excited, relieved and terrified all at once to be published.

“Hitting that key to release the book for publication…wow…intense.,” Jameson said. “Because I self-published, which is much more common these days than most people realize, the entire production is on my shoulders.”

Jameson who resides in California said she never had any intention to become a writer.

“I’ve always been a voracious reader, just like my mother – even as a toddler I would sit for hours under my parent’s dining room table with my storybooks and pretend to be reading,” Jameson said. “I fell into this by accident when I had a rather intense dream and told my husband that it would make a great book.

“He encouraged me to write it, and shortly after presented me with a brand new laptop and told me to get on with it. I’ve never been one to back away from a challenge, so I thought, what the heck, and it was on.”

Jameson said it was a writing assignment in her her senior year at MHS that increased her desire to succeed.

“The assignment didn’t receive the kind of grade I thought it should, and it stung,” she said. “The honors class were given newspaper clippings and asked to write an essay based on the article we received – my clipping happened to be my grandfather’s obituary. Pretty ironic.

“I wrote a heartfelt goodbye letter to my grandfather and received a C for my efforts. I was sorely disappointed, and it has always bugged me. So in a way, this feels like I’m saying, “See, I really am good at this!”

Jameson said her time living in Meridian with her parents, Delmar McCrary and Allene Harris, holds some of her sweetest memories. “Long, barefoot walks during the summer (making sure to stay on the grass whenever possible to keep from blistering my feet) through my grandmother’s neighborhood on 37th Ave. to the Jitney Jr. to get Icees. Sitting on the front porch as a small child and watching the fog machine roll down the street spraying for mosquitoes (goodness only knows what that did to our lungs). Painting Wildcat paw prints on the ground in the stadium at MHS with my good friends Lorna Pierce and Alan Barnes. Go Wildcats!

“It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to spend my summers and the last two years of high school in a small town, and be able to fish with my grandfather at Dalewood Lake.” Jameson said. “I think of the smell of mimosa trees, and shelling butter beans and purple hulled peas until my fingers were sore, of old Victorian style homes and tradition.

“Living in a world of concrete in southern California, I often long for the sights and smells of Meridian.”

Jameson said she hopes The Waystation finds its way into the hands of true bibliophiles who will enjoy the story and pass it on to others.

“If someone reads my book and enjoys it, or it makes them think, then I have accomplished what I set out to do,” she said. “Having a reader tell me how much they loved my story sends me on a high for hours. There is no better feeling.”

Meridian All-Stars Play for Charity

In recognition of Disability Awareness Month, the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department presented the USM Golden Eagles Wheelchair Basketball Team vs. the Community All-Stars, featuring the Meridian City Council, local pastors and community leaders at Carver Middle School Gym. Featured guest included Antonio Wright, a renowned public speaker, youth mentor and author of “From a Label to a Brand.” The Community All-Stars won the game. 

Neshoba Central students tour Weyerhaeuser

Neshoba Central High School’s engineering students toured Weyerhaeuser Company in Philadelphia, Miss. for a behind the scenes view on how technology impacts the manufacturing process. Weyerhaeuser Company answered questions about how Weyerhaeuser determines the quality of trees and the process of turning those trees into products that are shipped around the world.

Neshoba Central’s engineering program focuses on pre-engineering prerequisites and robotics for high school students. The purpose of the program is to provide students with expanded knowledge of the use of technological skills and to enable them to solve problems by applying knowledge in a technological context. The program is designed to provide students with hands-on experiences related to the application of engineering concepts in the workplace. 

Sedera Anderson, the engineering instructor, said the tour allowed students to not only see  the different technology and engineering layouts but also, how safety issues are addressed and applied. 

Meridian Civitan Club

The Meridian Civitan Club is selling old fashion world-famous Claxton fruitcakes.  The fruitcakes are $4 per pound and are available for purchase at Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union, 1st Mississippi Federal Credit Union, MUNA Federal Credit Union, Citizens National Bank, Great Southern Bank, First State Bank and BankPlus.

The Meridian Civitan Club is the oldest Civitan club in Mississippi and meets each Tuesday at noon in the private 3rd-floor dining room at Rush Hospital.

Cheryl Owens writes the Neighbors column for The Meridian Star. Submit items to cowens@themeridianstar.com.