Knoxville, TN - There were three things that shaped the path of Leoma Gilley, actually four if you include her parents (her father had a passion for storytelling.) For starters, there was a love of God. Early on, she developed a love of language, and her academic history includes a BS in Speech and Language Pathology, obtained in Tennessee where she was born, an MA in that same field, and a PhD in Linguistics she earned later in the UK. Leoma Gilley also has a genuine love and respect for people, all people, across many countries and cultures.
Journey to Africa for a Purpose
Leoma was an only child. In her 20’s she underwent a traumatic personal experience and found healing and comfort in the scriptures. As her fascination with language blossomed an opportunity came along to work for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. That vocation took her on some of the greatest adventures of her life, and she spent more than 20 years in Africa, moving across parts of the Sudan that varied from dessert to city, from arid to lush, from virtually uninhabited to metropolitan. She studied the habits, dress, and colors (and of course the languages) around her and wove them into her writing, which began with letters home, then moved to scholarly articles and later books that chronicled her life’s adventures, which often were not how she had planned it.
A fine career as an Author
Leoma began her training in the 1980s in Cameroon, then travelled to Nairobi, and later Khartoum and Juba. In 2004 she returned to the US to help care for her aging mother. She has written at least 6 more books since, focusing on her adjustment to life in different places. One of her books is a devotional and three are books of prayers. She helped develop an online Shilluk to English dictionary, and numerous linguistic articles about the Shilluk language (they are one of largest groups in the South Sudan.) Then she began writing her memoir series about life in Sudan.
Much of her life story and book titles are found at www.leomasbooks.com Her accounts are intense, accurate, and inviting and relate what it was like to work in 120 degree heat or find shrews had moved into an empty milk tin. Life was difficult, but Leoma always found humor in the challenges. And she forged delightful friendships-- from government figures to nuns and missionaries, to the locals she lived among.
“I’m writing these books to let people know who they are and the value they bring to humanity. Hospitality. Creativity. Resilience. The country was destroyed by war, but the value of people survives, despite their location or education. They are so wonderful to know.”
While her work varies in topic and style, the one constant is her deep commitment to honoring the people and culture she writes about A guiding force for her writing in the past few years came from an online, global writing and publishing group she joined. Women In Publishing helps women in all aspects of the book development and marketing process. She cites them as a go-to for improving her work and style and helping bring her ideas to life.
Finding Lessons and Humor in Everything
Leoma’s path was never truly straight and facing the constant shifts helped her to build endurance, resilience, and character. Overcoming the challenges presented by the Shilluk language have opened a new understanding about Nilotic languages.
In returning to the Close Up Radio Podcast, she will discuss her latest literary developments and share wonderful anecdotes of her years in Africa, particularly the Sudan.
For more information about this awesome woman and her work visit
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