Author · Speaker · Retired school counselor
Stories for the things we put off.
Mary Snyder writes true, funny, heartbreaking stories about the checkups, conversations, and paperwork we keep saying we’ll get to. Her latest, Moosefart, is written for men and the women who love them.
“Build it in Moosefart.” – Hoot
Her dream, and his: a log cabin with a curved driveway, tucked back in the trees.
The book
Moosefart
A Man, a Woman, and a Shattered Dream (2022). Order it from your favorite bookstore or Amazon, or find it on the shelf at Prairie Lights in Iowa City.
Hoot wasn’t his real name, but it’s the one most people called him. He loved woodworking, his small plane, long motorcycle trips, and his freedom. He hadn’t seen a doctor in years.
Hoot, who lived large.
Mary met him when he came to fix her air conditioner. She mentioned her dream house, a log cabin with a curved driveway tucked back in the trees. “Well,” he said, “that’s my dream.” They spent ten years together, and on a 27-day motorcycle trip she photographed every cabin porch they passed.
Hoot and Mary on the road, collecting ideas for a cabin.
Mary threw Hoot a 50th birthday party at his favorite marina. After ten years together, and Hoot sidestepping any conversation about marriage, Mary was ready to say goodbye. At the party, Hoot surprised everyone by asking Mary to marry him.
Around then, a nagging backache sent him to a community clinic. His PSA came back at 76, pointing to advanced prostate cancer. He decided the test was wrong and never went back. Two years later he crawled into the emergency room. Surgery bought him two more years, and near the end he asked Mary to write his story “so some other idiot doesn’t make the same stupid mistakes I did.”
After he died, the family opened his safe deposit box and found a will written 30 years earlier. It left everything to an old girlfriend. He always meant to change the will “someday.”
“Time is like money. You can spend it however you want, but you can only spend it once. Make it count.”
The title was a throwaway line Hoot said to Mary toward the end of his life. To know the specifics, you need to read the book!
Talk topics
For radio, podcast, TV, print, book clubs, and community groups. Timely for Movember and Men’s Health Awareness Month in November, Men’s Health Month and Father’s Day in June, and Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September.
Don’t wait until you’re a great‑grandparent.
Mary spent ten years encouraging Hoot to get a checkup. His denial cost him his life, and his unfinished paperwork cost the people he loved. Pandemics happen. Accidents happen. She talks about both with warmth, candor, and a lot of laughter.
“He said the test was wrong”
Why so many men avoid the doctor, and what a wife, daughter, or partner can say that actually gets him in the door.
The will in the safe deposit box
Easy first steps anyone can take this week to get their affairs in order, so the people they love aren’t left with surprises.
“Time is like money”
Hoot lived large. Mary makes the case that living fully and planning ahead belong together.
Questions Mary can answer
Good starting points for a short segment.
- Why would a man ignore a cancer diagnosis for two years?
- What can a partner say to a man who won’t get a checkup?
- What did the family find in his safe deposit box?
- What should every family do before the end of this week?
What readers say
“First I laughed, then I wanted to wring his neck, and then I cried.”
Dr. Dana P.“It reads like fiction but it’s a true story with a good message.”
Esther L.“Mary manages to talk about something really private in a way that feels open and welcoming.”
Rachel C.“A thought provoking look at life, living for the moment and just as importantly, planning for the future.”
Reader, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards“Moosefart: come for the title, read it and it may change your life.”
Jaime R.Her first book
Teachable Moments (2013)
An Insider’s Guide to Students and Pregnancy, Drinking, Drugs, Suicide, Testing, Lunch and Other Life Issues. Written from her years as a K-12 school counselor, it gives teachers and parents an honest look at what kids carry into the classroom, and reminds readers that underneath every problem education tries to tackle is an individual student with real needs.
“This book reminds me of Reviving Ophelia, which helped me understand how things are always changing.”
Monica A.“Mary does a great job of making the book real on a level that many similar books can’t reach. The writing is professional and brings a strong voice.”
Judge, 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Awards“Too much education policy is being decided by politicians who remember their own school days but haven’t set foot in a school for years. Mary’s book takes the reader inside a profoundly changed environment.”
Richard D.“Teachable Moments reminds us that underneath the problems to be tackled in education are individual students with diverse needs. This book will open your eyes to the challenges of meeting those needs day by day.”
Jaime R.About
Meet Mary
Seven books, promised in high school. Two on the shelf, one on the way.
Teachable Moments (2013)
View on Amazon
Raised on an Iowa farm.
170 miles of the Camino de Santiago.
Mary Snyder grew up on an Iowa farm and spent her career as a music teacher and K-12 school counselor in Minnesota and Iowa.
She holds a BA in Music Education from the College of St. Teresa and an MA in Teaching with a school counseling emphasis from Morningside College. Her first book, Teachable Moments: An Insider’s Guide to Students and Pregnancy, Drinking, Drugs, Suicide, Testing, Lunch and Other Life Issues, came straight out of her years as a school counselor. It reminds readers that underneath every problem education tries to tackle is an individual student with real needs, and it gives teachers and parents an honest look at what kids carry into the classroom. Moosefart began as index cards she kept while Hoot was sick and became a book during the pandemic. Her third, a collection of stories from growing up on the farm, is underway.
Mary has been featured on Iowa Public Radio and has walked 170 miles of the Camino de Santiago in 17 days. She has spoken to college education majors about the tough topics students bring to teachers that have nothing to do with the subject being taught. She’s happy to pair a speaking invitation with a good trip.