Nearly two years after The B-Town Blog first profiled his memoir Down the Road a Piece, Burien author and longtime educator Gaylloyd Sisson continues to write, travel, and share his stories with readers locally and abroad.
Sisson’s book, which recounts a family road trip through the segregated South in 1957, has resonated with audiences worldwide. It is available in bookstores and libraries in the United States, Canada, and Denmark, and has reached readers as far as Norway, the Netherlands, and Ethiopia (buy it online here).
“Life constantly changes,” Sisson recently told The B-Town Blog. “I give presentations as the featured author in libraries, museums, and book clubs.” Those presentations often spark conversations about African American cultural experiences, which he said he had not fully considered when first writing the memoir.
Sisson has also heard from readers of different backgrounds who shared their own family histories of racism, including connections to the Ku Klux Klan. He said their responses underscored the book’s ability to connect personal experiences across cultural and generational lines.
“People – black, white, of many ethnicities – told me their parents had Klan connections and experiences through the southern U.S. compared to my childhood,” Sisson said.
A new project rooted in daily journaling
Since publishing Down the Road a Piece, Sisson has continued to write poems and short stories. His current work, tentatively titled Starting with the Moment, grew out of a four-week road trip from Vancouver Island through Canada’s Rocky Mountains and back to Burien.
Like his first book, the project is grounded in decades of daily journals.
“My journals, done faithfully since 1965, are incubators for new stories and poems,” Sisson said. “My unpublished works slumber until one day I may awaken one.”
Revisiting painful memories
Reflecting on his memoir has brought a deeper awareness of racism that he said was invisible to him as a 13-year-old private school student. He recounted memories of being a toddler traveling by train with his mother, where he became the target of racial slurs from white passengers.
Sisson said those early moments of racism and later encounters abroad, including with Aboriginal Australians in Queensland, highlight how discrimination persists across cultures.
Local storytelling and community connection
Sisson has also participated in “7 Stories,” a monthly storytelling event at the Highline Heritage Museum where community members share personal experiences. He described the program as “the best pathway to the community’s emotions,” one that gave him courage to share stories he once thought were too personal.
Encouraging others to share their own stories, Sisson said fear and vulnerability often keep people silent.
“Locate the grit within and believe the audiences’ interest and empathy will find personal value hearing your story,” he said.
A lifelong educator and advocate for reading
Before his career as an author, Sisson spent decades teaching, from college to elementary, high school, and middle school classrooms in Seattle. He continues to advocate for reading, stressing that audiobooks from libraries and bookstores are valuable alternatives for those with limited time.
Currently, he is recording Down the Road a Piece as an audiobook at the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library in Seattle. The library, like many across the country, has faced federal funding cuts, raising concerns about the future of its services.
“Leaders are readers and vice versa,” Sisson said. “Audiobooks are good substitutes for reading books. They are free at the Seattle Public and the King County Public libraries.”
To learn more about Sisson or buy his book, visit:
https://josephgsisson.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: We are always looking for story ideas that highlight the interesting people who live and work in the greater south King County area. If you know someone with a compelling story to tell, please email your suggestions to scott@southkingmedia.com.
