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WEST VALLEY VIEW NEWS | JULY 21, 2021
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Buckeye teacher publishes book of short stories BY MADELINE LEWIS
West Valley View Staff Writer
T
he pandemic gave Buckeye resident Barbara Wheeler the time to accomplish a dream task: writing her first book, “Cuahi Li Hix: A Tale of Hilarious and Sometimes Harrowing Adventures in the Jungle of Belize.” Now a Litchfield Elementary School District teacher, Wheeler spent two years volunteering for the Peace Corps in Belize in the ’90s. “‘Cuahi Li Hix’ is a fun, quick read about my experience and about the Mayan people and how they lived. It’s an entertaining group of stories,” said Wheeler. “We moved to Arizona from Illinois, and as I was unpacking, I found a box with hundreds of letters. I asked my
family and friends to keep the letters I wrote so I’d have a log. I went through them and remembered all these stories I’d forgotten,” Wheeler said. March 2020 finally provided the opportunity to start chronicling those stories. “When COVID hit and we were pretty much locked down at home, I decided to start. This is the time I’m going to use,” said Wheeler. Wheeler’s family and friends encouraged her along the way. “I shared bits and pieces with my family. Hearing them laugh and seeing them tear up made me want to keep going,” she said. Wheeler’s fifth grade students were included, too. She shared the stories with them before writing the book. The book is titled after a common
Mayan phrase, according to Wheeler. “‘Cuahi li hix’ is a common phrase, similar to how we say, ‘Take care.’ When you are in the jungle, they say, ‘Beware the tiger.’ There are no tigers in Belize, but they really mean the jaguar or large jungle cat,” said Wheeler. “The title is symbolic of all the things we had issues with. There were snake issues, dog bites, bats — even an actual jaguar.” In college, Wheeler wanted to go abroad. A twist of fate led her to the Peace Corps. “My roommate’s boyfriend had a packet for the Peace Corps, and I had a packet for a domestic job. We swapped
Stories...continued on page 17
Barbara Wheeler used the pandemic to write her first book. (Submitted photo)
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