Pippa Pralen

Pippa is a history buff, especially for American history. You can often find her reading some obscure journal from the 1600s, written by early explorers or settlers. Eyewitness accounts are the most interesting sources for history for Pippa; they contain small details which give a vivid picture. Pippa researched numerous diaries of women who wrote of their Civil War experiences. Also slave accounts. We can feel as if we are there, fending off plundering Yankees, fighting starvation. We can be inspired by their courage and determination to survive. MEDICINE MEN: Pippa first became aware of the Lenape Indians when she lived in a tent for 2 months on an archeology dig in the Delaware Water Gap area of New Jersey. A local college sponsored the excavation under leadership of Dr Herb Kraft. Numerous burial sites were found, as the Lenape (or Delaware) Indians lived thousands of years along the Delaware River. She soon began researching early journals of explorers and white captives. These journals spoke of the mysterious powers of the medicine men and Lenape spirituality. The historical fiction of Pippa Pralen contains many eyewitness accounts of actual events. Early colonial history has fascinating tales and it's often in the small Footnotes that you find historical gems!