Memoir Chronicles Woman's Journey from Poverty in Rural Oklahoma to Globe-Trotting Interior Designer

Author details life with an abusive radical preacher father, a terminally ill mother and six siblings while she struggled to remain focused on the "pretty road"

DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A renowned, Dallas-based interior designer is sharing her deeply personal story of resilience in her new memoir. The book recounts her journey from a dirt-floor shack in the rural Oklahoma backwoods to a life of sophistication and achievement, despite a childhood marred by poverty, neglect, and abuse.

In "Walk the Pretty Way Home," author Myrl Talkington describes her childhood after her father, a radical Pentecostal preacher, moved her terminally ill mother and six siblings to a remote farmhouse to avoid medical intervention for her mother's tuberculosis. Forced to labor in the fields while also coping with an abusive older brother and an absent father, Talkington found strength in her pursuit of knowledge and dignity in small but powerful ways such as personal hygiene, housekeeping and excelling in her studies despite dyslexia.

"I realized that my escape was always paved by small acts of determination, whether that was chasing after a single piece of candy or secretly memorizing poetry to rise above my circumstances," said Talkington. "My book is about finding 'the pretty road,' even when life seems intent on covering it in dirt."

The autobiography follows Talkington's eventual escape from rural life into the glamorous world of commercial aviation in the 1960s, a setting she used as a self-taught finishing school, followed by her career as a highly sought after interior designer. She was included in the "Top Interior Designers in Dallas" list several times throughout the years and was frequently featured in D Home Magazine. The success of her business eventually allowed her to afford a luxurious high-rise condo overlooking the Turtle Creek neighborhood.

"No matter where you are headed," said Talkington, "always take the prettiest roads in life."

"Walk the Pretty Way Home"
By Myrl Talkington
ISBN: 9798385052974 (softcover); 9798385052981 (hardcover); 9798385052967 (electronic)
Available at WestBow Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author
After her difficult childhood in the backwoods of rural Oklahoma, Myrl Talkington moved to Dallas and became a flight attendant for Braniff Airlines. After a successful career at Braniff, she went on to become a successful interior designer, working for clients with homes throughout the country. She still resides in Dallas. To learn more, please visit www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/864081-walk-the-pretty-way-home.

General Inquiries: 
LAVIDGE – Phoenix 
Ziggy Goldfarb
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SOURCE WestBow Press