Sandra Schnakenburg is a dual American/Australian citizen. Sandy earned a BS in finance and international business at Arizona State University and an MBA specializing in finance and accounting at the University of Southern California. She left a career in corporate finance in 2010 to study creative nonfiction. She has completed writing courses at Rice University, Writespace, and The Writers University in Houston. When not writing, you will find Sandra enjoying her family, nature, hiking, skiing, biking, cooking, yoga and walking her dogs. She and her husband, Karl, currently split their time between Houston, Texas and Park City, Utah.

About The Housekeeper’s Secret

Secrets. We all have them. We all love to discover them. We all turn the pages until that secret is revealed. For Sandra Schnakenburg, the secrets she found out about her beloved housekeeper, Lee, were overwhelming. Driven by Lee’s dying wish, Sandy’s simple investigative journey intensifies when she serendipitously discovers Lee’s past and true identity, a gut-wrenching truth hidden for three decades from her family. 

On her deathbed, Lee asks Sandy to write her story— a story Lee would often bellow over the years “no one would ever believe!” No word from the story was spoken, even after decades of pestering Lee to the point of anger for details about her past. Years later, Lee’s request sends the author on a deeply emotional journey to find the truth, unearthing shocking secrets about her cherished housekeeper’s past and revelations about her own childhood.Ultimately, The Housekeeper’s Secret is a poignant testament to love and survival, revealing the resilience of the human spirit.

Sandra’s Website

Melrose Plantation, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

Manteno State Mental Hospital Manteno Township in Kankakee County, Illinois

Affiliate links below.

PodMatch a Dating Service for Podcasters

If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.

Story-Power on Patreon

I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.

Classic Cinema with the Sage Sisters

Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.

Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, who we want to be, and the kind of world we want to live in.

Come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group.