Legacy Architecture - Hezzie Mae

A private offering from heather N Wilde

Some lives are too Important
to be left to memory alone.

Legacy architecture is for the few whose stories must not be lost.

The Architect

Heather N. Wilde

I am a memoirist, narrative architect, and boutique publisher with a singular focus: translating and honoring lived experience into literary permanence.

I have written books with George Floyd's lifelong friend and a retired schoolteacher whose dying wish was to become a published author. I have held the stories of grief, legacy, and leadership with equal reverence. I listen for what others miss — the golden thread — and build manuscripts that endure.

My work has been endorsed by two Pulitzer Prize–winning authors. My boutique publishing house, Hezzie Mae, stewards every project from first conversation to final page.

I take very few clients. On purpose.

The Proof

Floyd’s Baller with Adarryl Hunter

When Adarryl and I first met, he didn’t yet realize that the story deserving to be told was his own.

He had watched his closest friend become a headline. Watched the world decide it knew George Floyd — when Adarryl was one of the few people who actually did. That grief is its own kind of weight.

What he didn’t see yet was that his story — their friendship, their world, the boys they were before any of this — was exactly what young people needed to read.

Floyd’s nickname for Adarryl was Baller.

Now there’s a book. And both of them are in it — honored, whole, and reaching young adults who need to know that context matters, friendship matters, and every life has more to it than its final moment.

“A powerful and deeply human novel.” — Toluse Olorunnipa, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

“A heartfelt story of enduring friendship in tough circumstances… compelling readers to reflect on what it means to grow up a Black boy in America.” — Robert Samuels, The Washington Post; Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

THE PROOF

Pig Tales & Popcorn with Patricia Passero

Pat loved pigs, popcorn, and brown pop. She was a retired teacher in hospice whose dying wish was to become a published author. That wish was honored. Fully.

Near the end, I told her, “I love you more than coffee.” Pat didn’t miss a beat: “And I love you more than popcorn.”

I had those words tattooed on my arm. In Pat’s handwriting.

That is the kind of relationship this work requires. And the kind I bring to every project.

"A powerful and deeply human novel."

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA

Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

"A heartfelt story of enduring friendship in tough circumstances… compelling readers to reflect on what it means to grow up a Black boy in America."

ROBERT SAMUELS

The Washington Post; Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of His Name Is George Floyd

"This book will resonate with many and will be a tool to start much-needed conversations."

DR. SHAREEDUH MCGEE

President, The 929 Foundation; first cousin of George Floyd Jr.

"Floyd's Baller isn't just a story — it's a lived memory put into words with honesty and care. It doesn't tell you what to think — it asks you to feel, to reflect, and to sit with the truth. I'm grateful this story was written, and even more grateful it was written with this much heart."

BRIAN THOMAS

MN Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Initiative

THE PROCESS

Phase I — Excavation (3–4 months) Before a single word is drafted, the architecture is built. Interviews, timeline mapping, archival research, and deep listening. This phase ends with an approved Narrative Blueprint — the foundation everything else is built on.

Phase II — Drafting (4–6 months) With the architecture in place, the manuscript is written. Nothing is rushed.

Phase III — Refinement (1 month) The manuscript is shaped, tightened, and brought to its final form.

Phase IV — Production (1–2 months) Hezzie Mae stewards the book through publication — design, production, and distribution.

The full engagement spans approximately one year.

Legacy Architecture engagements are limited, private, and accepted by conversation only.

If you have arrived at this page, something in you already knows.

Books by Heather N. Wilde

Tumbled

A powerful journey through trauma, growth, and self-honoring as one woman fights to reclaim her life.

Pig Tales and Popcorn

A tender tribute to Patricia Passero’s final months, celebrating legacy, friendship, and the quiet beauty of a life fully lived.

Sell Your Book, Not Your Soul

A practical, heart-centered guide that helps authors market their books authentically, sustainably, and without losing themselves in the process.

Floyd’s Baller

A YA historical fiction that restores dignity and humanity to the story of George Floyd through the powerful, real-life friendship of Adarryl Hunter.

Some lives are too Important to be left to memory alone.