About the author

Jim Barber

<p>Jim Barber grew up in South Georgia, helping his family raise hogs and working on his uncles&rsquo; tobacco farms while pursuing his dream to become a newspaper reporter. His first &ldquo;public&rdquo; job came at age sixteen, covering sports for his county newspaper, <em>The Berrien Press</em>. Jim spent the bulk of his newspaper career with United Press International&rsquo;s Atlanta bureau before a short stint with the <em>New York Daily News</em> led him to transfer to the world of corporate journalism and a twenty-five-year career with Georgia Power and Southern Company, one of the nation&rsquo;s largest utilities.</p> <p>A state and national award winner for his writing, Jim previously co-edited three published books: <em>Atlanta Women Speak, </em>a collection of speeches from notable women such as Jane Fonda, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and author Pearl Cleage, as well as<em> Journey of Faith </em>and<em> Art from our Hearts, </em>both church histories.</p> <p>While his work on the family farms is a distant memory, Jim does enjoy raising gardens in his backyard, especially tomatoes for his wife of nearly thirty-five years. Jim doesn&rsquo;t eat tomatoes, but he does play a lot of tennis and works part-time as the administrator of his church. He and Becky live in Atlanta near Stone Mountain, which he climbs faithfully almost every day. They have three grown daughters, one son-in-law (soon to be two), and three grand dogs.</p> <p>Visit the author&rsquo;s website at www.jimbarber.me.</p>