So, my byline has evolved a bit over the years. (Attention aspiring writers: Pick a professional identity and stick to it. There, you got the memo that I missed.)
To clear up any understandable confusion, here's an annotated timeline of my various name changes:
1978--Born Debra Aili Volk (Debby to friends and family)
2001--Began career as Debra Volk (still introducing myself in person as Debby)
2004--Got married and changed my name legally to Debra Beaulieu (calling myself Deb at this point to sound more sophisticated).
2007--Added Mom to my list of monikers. Still professionally Debra Beaulieu, although my headshot was literally taken at a playground with my daughter on my lap (Please don't tell her we cropped her out.)
2013--Divorced. Lagged on changing my name back legally due to my kids' concerns validating my own laziness and adversity to paperwork.
On advice of an editor/fellow divorcee, I plotted a stepwise transition so as not to lose my recognizability. So I decided to temporarily hyphenate my name backwards. I was getting divorced, after all, not married, and symbolically re-marrying myself... My byline for the next few years became Debra Beaulieu-Volk (checks still payable to Debra Beaulieu; started to enjoy being called Debby by old friends because it made me feel young). The plan was to eventually drop the Beaulieu out of the middle once all my many fans and followers were up to speed.
Oh, and for much of my social media presence, at least for personal accounts, I used my middle name (Aili, pronounced EYE-lee) in place of the many last names that didn't feel right for various reasons.
2015--Began a new position (returning to a company that hired me as a Volk and threw a baby shower for me as a Beaulieu) and dropped the unofficial reverse-hyphenation malarkey. Back to Debra Beaulieu. This is probably when I started using my middle initial more often. For consistency.
2017--Remarried, and once and for all became Debra Shute, legally and professionally. I still like to use my middle initial in bylines. I mostly introduce myself as Deb, except in restaurants or at Starbucks because they always seem to hear "Beth." In those cases, I borrow my daughter's name, Annie (which is actually a nickname for Annalie) because it's fairly hard to get wrong.
2109--As my late Grandpa would say, you can call me anything--except late for dinner. (Obviously he wasn't in charge of making dinner, but I digress.) Look for my work under Debra A. Shute, healthcare journalist.
