Musings of an Island Girl

About the Book

While writing columns for the Virgin Islands Daily News over the last seven years, I received much favorable feedback from readers.  If an article addressed an issue that was currently in the news, many said that I had put into print exactly what they too had been thinking. Concerning personal reflections on family and life in general, again, many stopped to remark positively on how their lives, if just for a brief moment, were touched by what they had read.  Recently, I was reminded of Stepping Out of the Box by an acquaintance who also has a fear of driving on the mainland, and how much she had identified with the article as she read it three years ago!

 In my second year of writing, people started to name their favorite column.  If none appeared for two to three months, I was stopped regularly on the street and “prompted” to write soon.  One year, My Grandfather’s Letter was read to a class at a local elementary school during “Reading is Fundamental Week”, and, a secondary school teacher once stopped me to relate how Mbube and the Zulu was the topic of discussion one day in her Social Studies class.  The students wanted to continue even after the bell had rung! A male reader once sought the Daily News’ assistance in contacting me after reading When the Men We Love…Lie – he had a story to share about the opposite side of the spectrum!  This consistent feedback over the years motivated me to continue writing about issues I felt were meaningful and informational to the reading public and at the same time, gave me a sense of pride and fulfillment. 

For these reasons, I decided to compile all forty articles into one easy-to-read keepsake, with personal photographs, for those who have faithfully read them over the years and who may enjoy reading them again.  Personally, I also wanted to broaden my horizon by reaching out to a first-time reading audience, both in and out of the “islands.” While some of the topics are of course dated, lively discussions can be generated for years to come. Favorites include, When the Men We Love,…Lie, Where, Oh Where Does Time Go?, Getting Back What We’ve Lost, My Grandfather’s Letter, When My Beloved Grandmother Died, Feeling Proud and I’m Scared!                       

Henrita Barber

About the Author

Henrita Morris Barber was born in New York City to parents from the U.S. Virgin Islands.   Raised by her paternal grandparents on St. Thomas, she enjoyed a wonderful childhood filled with many fond memories.  During adolescence she lived with her parents in New York for six years, but returned to St. Thomas permanently as a teenager. She attended and graduated from Sts. Peter and Paul High School, class of 1971, and earned her undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from the then College of the Virgin Islands in 1978. She later completed all course work for the Masters Degree in Education, also at the now University of the Virgin Islands.

Ms. Barber, an avid reader, has always had a love for words and writing, winning several English awards in elementary and high school. Besides writing, other passions include music and the arts.  She is a pianist at the Calvary Baptist Church on St. Thomas and gives of her time and effort to working with and for the mentally ill. She recently retired from the Virgin Islands Department of Education after thirty years of service and is the mother of two grown children.

Ms. Barber was inspired to write regularly for the Virgin Islands Daily News after her submission – “Six Generations Raised in a Close Circle of Love”, won the national Outstanding Editorial or Commentary Writing in the area of Education in June 2000 for the paper’s, “The Times of Our Lives - One Hundred Years in the Virgin Islands”, a special edition published in December 1999. (That article also appears in this publication.)  Her regular articles have been well-received by the public and generates much discussion, even in V.I. classrooms. Ms. Barber has also written for the University of the Virgin Islands’ UVI Magazine, and on her own time, puts her editing and writing skills to work for family and friends in the community.

Ms. Barber speaks from the heart.  Her topics are diverse and include personal recollections, social commentaries, book reviews, educational information, politics, love and living in general.  She introduces each article with her innermost thoughts and circumstances which motivated her writing, and ends with an inspirational quotation that reflects the main theme.  Originally written as newspaper columns, the articles are between 900 and 1100 words in length- allowing for easy and quick reading.