Amy Ruth Trussell 1959-2021

Amy passed away on June 3, 2021. Amy was born on June 15^th, 1959, in Amherst, Massachusetts, to William and Ruth Trussell. The family soon moved to Topeka, where she grew up. Amy discovered a love of writing in high school and participated in track and school plays. After graduating, she followed her older brother Clarke out to San Francisco and enrolled at SFSU in the creative writing department.

In her first semester there, she met her future husband Patrick Hatten, also an English major, and in 1978 they became sweethearts, a union that would last the rest of her life. After college they moved up to Santa Rosa, where she worked as a masseuse and advocated for Native American rights. She was also a birthing doula in an Oakland hospital. Both her sons, Jasper and Marlon, were born at home.

Amy was a writer her whole life and was widely published in literary journals such as Poetry Salzburg, The Prague Review, Poetry Flash, The Comstock Review. She was a finalist for the William Faulkner Award and her books include: Meteorite Dealers, Ungulations, Physical Address, Poems in Ursa Minor, The Painted Tongue Flowers. She wrote in journals every day, sometimes creating pray pages or affirmations for any friend or family member that needed extra loving care.

Amy was a dedicated and loving mother, an avid dancer, music lover, reader, outdoors enthusiast, and involved in political and social affairs. She brought love and kindness every day of her life. Now we carry her heart in our hearts.