Stop Sitting on Your Autobiography and Write It!
Join author Wayne Cheshire, facilitator Sarah Bewley, and photographer Pat Payne for an inspiring talk-show-style panel celebrating the creation of the book, Wayne Cheshire: A Man, A Place, and a Time. The talk will be held at 2:30 p.m. on January 10, 2027, at the Millhopper Branch of the Alachua County Library.
At 91, Cheshire reflects on 85 years in Gainesville and shares the inspiration, passion, family conversations, and handwritten process behind his memoir.
Bewley will offer a behind-the-scenes look at transcribing, organizing, editing, preserving Cheshire’s voice, and working with BookBaby through two drafts.
Payne will relate how photography shaped the book’s story.
More than a book talk, this warm, practical conversation will encourage attendees to begin, shape, and share their own autobiographical stories confidently.
Wayne Cheshire’s wife Rosa wanted him to write a book about his life. Knowing his extraordinary memory of his childhood, his time in the Pacific in the Navy, and his work as a builder, she believed he had an interesting story to tell. Rosa passed away in 2021.
Cheshire was born in Wellborn, Florida, in 1935, and his family relocated to Gainesville in 1941 when he was six years old. It was a town where Main Street became a dirt road at Depot Avenue, and the population was 13,757. His book tells not just the story of one man, but of family, community, and adventures building churches in Africa and South America.
Sarah Bewley is a Florida mystery novelist and playwright. The Eden County Mysteries published by Level Best Books includes Burning Eden, Frozen Eden, and Drowning Eden.
In 2012 she won the William F. Deeck award for unpublished writers, which led to her three book offer with Level Best Books. Her plays have been produced in Los Angeles, New York, and Australia.
Pat Payne is a visual artist who survives by doing digital restoration and photography for assorted books. His artwork is in private collections in New York City and Los Angeles.
A Floridian by birth who considers Gainesville to be his hometown, Payne has a thing for climbing mountains in the western U.S.
A book signing will follow the panel discussion.
This presentation is free and open to the public.
