Great stories are everywhere. Sometimes they simply show up when you pause long enough to notice them. That is exactly what happened a few weeks back. I walked into a book signing expecting to browse new titles, do a little networking, and maybe collect a few signatures. Instead, I found myself surrounded in a room filled with inspiring talent.
I stopped at Mary Ellen Ziliak's table and began looking through her collection. I was immediately drawn in, not only by the books she has written, but by the stories behind them. It didn’t take long to realize that Mary Ellen’s life experiences have found their way onto the page in meaningful ways.
Over the years, she has written across genres: Memoir, documentary, faith‑centered, children’s literature, and anthology excerpts. Her body of works include MS: Beyond the Red Door, From Acorns to Nuts: A Century of West Side Fall Festival and Philanthropy, Touching the Untouchables: The Heart of a Missionary, Tiny Teak, A Children's Book, and an excerpt featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Inner Strength.
Our conversation felt less like meeting someone new and more like reconnecting with an old friend. I knew I wanted to hear more, so I asked if she would be willing to share her story with my Coffee, Laughs, and Chats readers, and thankfully, she said yes. Fascinating is the best word to describe her lived experiences, writing journey and the heart behind it all.
A few days later, I reached out to set up a time to meet. Last week we did just that. We caught up at a little coffee shop on the west side of town; of course, for me, coffee is mandatory! From the moment we sat down and began talking, it was easy to see that Mary Ellen doesn’t separate life into neat little boxes. Everything overlaps, flows, and makes sense together. Nursing, writing, speaking, faith, family, and service are all woven together by a single, steady thread… connection.
Early in our conversation, somewhere between the first Latte sip and shared laugh, she simply said, “All living things are connected.” This statement proved to be more than a belief; it had become a continuous theme in her work and life. “I’ve been a wife and a mother for more than fifty years, now I’m a grandmother to nine. Everything else builds on that." Her books flow naturally from her life experiences. She writes the way she speaks, with candor, clarity and compassion. Her stories don’t rush to resolution as she shares both hard truths and laughter. Her writing style is so much more than a storyteller. Mary Ellen invites the reader into the story itself with layered insight, honesty and heart.
Mary Ellen didn’t arrive at writing by the shortest route. After a long career as a Director of Nursing, a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age forty‑five rerouted everything she thought would define her. Ironically, what looked like an ending became an opening; one that required living intentionally, navigating challenges with skill and finding a new voice. She embraced her new challenge by stepping into a role as a patient advocate for a pharmaceutical company, speaking not as a nurse, but as a patient living with MS to neurologists and researchers. This work opened the door to broader opportunities and soon she began training ambassadors across the U.S., giving over 300 presentations. To date she has shared her experiences in 37 states and to audiences from 40 different countries. While speaking may have sharpened her voice, writing offered her something entirely different; the chance to connect with new audiences, and share her story in a deeper, more personal way.
To understand her voice, I decided to take a closer look at each book. I soon discovered that the stories within the pages are inseparable from the lives that shaped them.
Mary Ellen Ziliak’s first book, MS: Beyond the Red Door, shares a poignant reveal of living life with Multiple Sclerosis. As a registered nurse, she brough her medical perspective to the story, but it was her personal journey with MS that shaped the narrative. During IV treatments, she met her co‑author, Dr. Rick Yeager, an ER physician, who lived his philosophy "It is what it is. Face it, embrace it, and live life well!". Together they recognized they were both sharing a life altering challenge, a "Red Door" they each had to walk through. They approached the book from both sides of the stethoscope, not as experts but as patients learning how to live forward.
MS: Beyond the Red Door opens with a line that tends to stop readers cold: "Multiple sclerosis was both the worst thing, and the best thing that ever happened to us." That is a bold claim, and one the book earns. With brutal honesty, sharp insight, and moments of unexpected humor, this story never tip-toes around the losses, identity shifts, daily uncertainties, and the hard‑won clarity that comes with acceptance. Mary Ellen invites readers into the real, unfiltered experience of living with MS.
Their routine always began with prayer, although no writing session ever went as planned. “It’s safe to say each session carried its own unpredictability.” She laughed. One moment, in particular, still stood out. She had been reading the Prayer of Jabez and, during their prayer time, asked for their territory to be expanded. Before she could finish the thought, Dr. Yeager gently interrupted. “Maybe,” he said with a smile, “expansion isn’t what either of us needs right now. I’ve expanded so much, I’m about to explode.” They laughed until it hurt, recognizing how thoroughly their “territory” had already been expanded.
MS: Beyond the Red Door is less about diagnosis and more about decision-making. “MS took a great deal,” Mary Ellen writes, “but it also brought clarity, purpose, and a more intentional way of living. Both truths coexist.” For those newly diagnosed, her message offers reassurance without sugarcoating, and hope without denial. “Knowledge matters. Acceptance matters. And hope is very much alive. When life presents a 'red door' you never planned to open, you are still whole."
A testament to a life of service, courage, and compassion, revealing the remarkable true story of Rev. Jerome “Father Jerry” Ziliak, SVD, ((Society of Divine Word-Catholic), a mid-western farm boy who spent fifty years serving the Aboriginal communities of Central India, a people the world had cast aside as “untouchables.”
Traveling jungle paths few dared to follow, Father Jerry committed his life to presence over recognition. Through faith lived out in practical ways, he brought hope where there was little and belonging where there had been none. He didn’t come to be noticed; he came to stay.
The days were long. The work was hard. He dug seventy wells so all could drink, constructed sixty kilometers of terraces, developed improved seed and corn crops adapted to the weather and conditions, built a natural gas plant fueled by cow manure that piped gas into village huts for cooking and light, and planted 10,000 teak trees, honoring both the land and the people who depended on it. Through ordinary acts lived with extraordinary faith, Father Jerry brought Christ to the poorest of the poor. Shortly before his passing, Father Jerry worried that everything he had learned would be lost. Mary Ellen promised to preserve his legacy. When he passed, just two days later, that promise became a thirteen‑year labor of love. Drawing from family newsletters, journals, notes, and memories, Touching the Untouchables-The Heart of a Missionary reveals a life of quiet faith lived out in perseverance, compassion, and hope.
Mary Ellen is quick to say that she doesn't believe in coincidences. Two weeks ago, Sunderlal (Sunder) reached out to Mary Ellen via the magic of Zoom. He wanted to thank her for sharing Father Jerry's life. Sunder shared treasured memories. Sunder explained that he grew up in the small village of Karpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. Throughout his childhood he was ostracized as an outcast, an "untouchable." The segregated system of twentieth century India prohibited him from drinking out of the same well as a higher caste, (Hindu meaning "hereditary class") or eating at the same table. Attending Father Jerry’s mission school in Karpur cracked the door opened for advanced education and led to a lifetime career as a respected English teacher. Today Sunder shares a feeling of cultural acceptance rather than exclusion. “Look at me. You can no longer tell if I am an outcast. No one can tell. That is all because of Father Jerry!”
Mary Ellen was surprised to see that same spirit in her own life when she received a writing grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to develop lesson materials for schools in the Diocese of Evansville. What began as four lesson plans grew into meaningful classroom conversations where Father Jerry’s values, dignity, inclusion, stewardship, and service are still being lived out, opening doors to renewed connections throughout the community and expanding outreach to India.
TINY TEAK
Mary Ellen’s belief in growth and purpose also found its way into children’s literature with Tiny Teak, again a story inspired by the life and legacy of Father Jerry Ziliak. Gentle yet powerful, the book reminds readers that everyone grows in their own time, and that being small does not mean being insignificant.
Set in an exotic village in India, Tiny Teak follows a young teak tree who fears he will never grow tall or have purpose. With the loving guidance of his grandmother, Nani Tree, Tiny Teak learns lessons of patience, self‑worth, and belonging.
Written by Mary Ellen Ziliak and Lucy Ziliak Will, and illustrated by Joan Dewig Dejon, Tiny Teak introduces children to themes of dignity, inclusion, and hope. Through Tiny Teak, Mary Ellen hopes children feel encouraged, seen, and confident. They need to know they matter, even when they feel small or overlooked. “Kids understand belonging and honesty instinctively,” Mary Ellen says. “Adults sometimes need that reminder too.”
Mary Ellen's reverence for connection is at the heart of From Acorns to Oaks, a documentation of a century of the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival and the philanthropy mindset behind it. While writing this book, Mary Ellen was fascinated with selecting the photographs. Searching beyond dates and faces, she focused on the images that captured emotion, moments of connection, service, and shared history that revealed the festival’s deeper story. What surprised her the most wasn't the festival's longevity but the spirit behind it.
From Acorns to Oaks: A Century of West Side Nut Club Fall Festival and Philanthropy chronicles the festival’s history from its humble beginnings in 1921 to present day. Throughout the pages, readers witness the journey of generation after generation who came together to celebrate and to serve. Philanthropy, tradition, and shared purpose transformed a neighborhood festival into a living example of what a committed community can achieve. Published in partnership with the West Side Nut Club, a portion of each book sold benefits the Club and its philanthropic mission.
Today, the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival stands as one of the largest street festivals in the world, drawing more than 200,000 visitors to Franklin Street in Evansville, Indiana, each October. With free entertainment, carnival attractions, amateur talent competitions, a large parade, and more than 120 nonprofit‑run food booths, the festival's impact benefits the community far beyond a single week.
Celebrating more than 100 years of the Fall Festival, From Acorns to Oaks-A Century of West Side Nut Club Fall Festival and Philanthropy preserves this rich history and celebrates the people and purpose that continue to sustain it.
Like I said before, great stories are everywhere, especially when coffee is involved and you take a moment to really listen. If you’re ready to keep turning pages with Mary Ellen Ziliak, you can find all of her books on Amazon.com.
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