We hope you enjoyed reading the April 2022 issue of This Awful Awesome Life.

Many thanks to Lilly Kauffman, Orlando Bartro, and Linda Cahill for being important parts of our magazine and contributing excellent content month after month.

May is always Mystery Month in This Awful Awesome Life. Mysteries are all around us. Life is the biggest mystery of all and the most excellent adventure. We’re excited to share some mysteries with you this month.

Who wrote the first mystery? I thought I knew the answer, but my research left me with questions. As in life, mysteries abound in short stories, plays, and books. A better question would be who first incorporated a mystery into the plot of their work? Was it Shakespeare? Was Hamlet the first detective? Many believe it was Edgar Allen Poe or Wilkie Collins. What do you think?

Not all mysteries involve crimes. Lilly Kauffman puts an unusual spin on the question, “Where did I last have that?” as she takes us through a lifetime of “lost and found.” Spoiler alert – her husband has become a master sleuth and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Orlando Bartro is back and he’s “thinking a new thought.” Will you accept his challenge?

Linda Cahill has delicious recipes for upcoming get togethers and spending more time outside and less time in your kitchen. Beets are our vegetable of the month. Wait until you see what we’ve cooked up for you!

I asked six mystery writers whose work has been reviewed in our magazine to answer six questions about writing in general and their writing. Special thanks to J.J. Hensley, Nancy Martin, Annette Dashofy. Luke Murphy, Robin Barefield, and Wendy Tyson for taking the time to answer our questions for Mystery Month.

We have reading recommendations for excellent mystery series for adults and kids. We also have a Mystery quiz for you. Who created these well-known amateur sleuths, private investigators, and detectives? Test your knowledge and answer the question, “Who put them in charge?” Don’t miss our streaming recommendations for mysteries from around the world and close to home.

We didn’t forget about Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day, our new series, “Dare to Believe,” or May 2022 in Pictures!

Samantha Sayers has been missing since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page. Thank you!

Please share our link, www.thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.

Be sure to subscribe to our free mailing list and each new issue of This Awful Awesome Life will be delivered directly to your inbox with a personal note from me. We fixed the glitches we were having on our mailing list, so you will receive the link for the new issue the same day it publishes. We won’t share your name or email address. Like us on Facebook for the latest from This Awful Awesome Life!

Happy Reading,

Fran