Life finds a new perspective in the tale of Wendel the Wind Turbine
Artwork by Marie Wiedefeld
As a young girl growing up on a cattle farm in Glencoe, Maryland, Suzy Roeder passed the time making up stories with her group of rural-town friends and jotting them down for safekeeping.
Years later, Roeder pays homage to her idyllic childhood, channels her inner writer, and tells the story of an unassuming friend in her novel Wendel the Wind Turbine.
Artwork by Marie Wiedefeld
“My friends and I always loved reading, so we just started writing our own stories,” says Roeder. “I still have a lot of those little stories. These were the days when the kids on one farm would marry the kids on the farm across the street, and except for meals, I was outside from dawn to dusk in the summers.”
Now a mother of ten and a grandmother of four, Roeder raised her own family on a horse and dairy farm in Kansas, where she dreamt up the protagonist of the novel.
Set on a landscape similar to that of Roeder’s own youth, the narrative follows a young wind turbine, Wendel, who undergoes a journey of self-discovery after replacing an old windmill and is forced to learn about his purpose and place in the community around him.
“At first, Wendel has to go through that process like any kid, where you’re the center of the world in the beginning,” says Roeder. “Then all of a sudden, you learn about others, you see others, you start comparing yourself, and you might start to feel bad about yourself or deficient in some way. You might feel you’re just a little different, and you need to find yourself.”
Much like Wendel’s start, Roeder’s path as a writer wasn’t always laid out for her.
In high school, she learned to write adult stories, screenplays, and even brainstormed an idea for a full-length motion picture. According to Roeder, her passion was heavily encouraged by inspiring teachers throughout her education.
Going into college, the creative assumed she’d end up in a major like English, following her knack for writing.
“The courses I ended up loving were anthropology, sociology, and things like that,” says Roeder. “At the same time, people had always told me, ‘You’d make such a great nurse.’ And that’s what I did.”
While nursing has served as Roeder’s career and livelihood, her love for story-telling never swayed. Knowing she wanted to create an encouraging narrative for adolescents, she got to pen and paper, and Wendel was born. Partnering up with her daughter, Marie Wiedefeld, for the novel’s illustration made it all the more special.
Artwork by Marie Wiedefeld
“I’m no expert, but I just love doing it,” says Roeder. “And I think when you have that bug, you just have to do it. I just knew that I had to get Wendel’s story out there.”
Aside from encouraging an accepting, healthy view of self, Wendel’s story familiarizes readers with the basic concepts around wind energy and electricity.
As they follow beside him and his ups and downs of being a young boy in a new place, Roeder hopes readers learn a little about a potentially unfamiliar topic while finding comfort in Wendel’s relatable human experiences.
“I want them to know that whatever they are, however they are, they’re important,” Roeder says. “I think if we teach children young that they are important, they’ll be better off in the future. They’re important to themselves, their families, to the world, and they just need to keep moving. They should know they are loved.”
