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My Seven Lives
Life stories of the author Solveig Sedlet from La Crosse Wisconsin.
242 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 4, 2022
Review originally published September 2005
My Seven Lives by Solveig Sedlet is an enduring look back on her life. Solveig was born in Sonderjylland (South Jutland), Denmark in 1925. The youngest of three children, Solveig reminisces about her family and her life. She writes about her life as seven stages, as in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
She begins with her village of Fjelstrup and its inhabitants. This quaint little village of 500, as it was in her childhood, is described both by its physical layout and its inhabitants and their occupations.
She begins with the church bells. These bells tolled for events happy and tragic. They tolled the sunrise and the sunset. They instilled a pattern and order in the little village. The pictures that she is able to include in the book make the people more real as well as help the reader go back in time. Her life revolved around her family and her community.
Solveig recounts Denmark’s occupation by German forces during World War II as seen through the eyes of a child. She also tells the story of a previous occupation and how it affected her parents’ lives. The history of this time, from her perspective, painfully illustrates the division in communities and families during wartime and foreign occupation. She calls these her “five bitter years.”
As the youngest child in the family, leaving her parents and, ultimately, her country, must have been painful for her parents. She recalls her mother “reaching for the train as it began to move, as if she were trying to hold it back." She travels to England and the United States for work. She marries Ray Hirsch in his hometown of Chicago on December 9, 1950.
The couple settles in New Jersey and begins married life together. They have three daughters and one son together before Ray suffers a cerebral hemorrhage and dies, ironically, on their thirteenth wedding anniversary.
Left alone, with four small children, Solveig travels back to Denmark for a year of healing. Feeling that she is fulfilling a dream she had with her husband, she wants to introduce her children to the place of her childhood as well as their grandparents. After a year in her homeland, she returns to the United States with her children. Being the sole parent and wage earner, her life is busy but she manages to engage the children and herself in the community outside their home.
Solveig and Jake Sedlet meet through a single’s social group. They blend their families through tradition and marriage.
Throughout the book, Solveig has included pictures of herself and her family along with poetry she has written.
My Seven Lives is a wonderful book that will move you to laughter and tears. It is a well-written documentation of her “lives” and the history she lived through.
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
My Seven Lives by Solveig Sedlet is an enduring look back on her life. Solveig was born in Sonderjylland (South Jutland), Denmark in 1925. The youngest of three children, Solveig reminisces about her family and her life. She writes about her life as seven stages, as in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
She begins with her village of Fjelstrup and its inhabitants. This quaint little village of 500, as it was in her childhood, is described both by its physical layout and its inhabitants and their occupations.
She begins with the church bells. These bells tolled for events happy and tragic. They tolled the sunrise and the sunset. They instilled a pattern and order in the little village. The pictures that she is able to include in the book make the people more real as well as help the reader go back in time. Her life revolved around her family and her community.
Solveig recounts Denmark’s occupation by German forces during World War II as seen through the eyes of a child. She also tells the story of a previous occupation and how it affected her parents’ lives. The history of this time, from her perspective, painfully illustrates the division in communities and families during wartime and foreign occupation. She calls these her “five bitter years.”
As the youngest child in the family, leaving her parents and, ultimately, her country, must have been painful for her parents. She recalls her mother “reaching for the train as it began to move, as if she were trying to hold it back." She travels to England and the United States for work. She marries Ray Hirsch in his hometown of Chicago on December 9, 1950.
The couple settles in New Jersey and begins married life together. They have three daughters and one son together before Ray suffers a cerebral hemorrhage and dies, ironically, on their thirteenth wedding anniversary.
Left alone, with four small children, Solveig travels back to Denmark for a year of healing. Feeling that she is fulfilling a dream she had with her husband, she wants to introduce her children to the place of her childhood as well as their grandparents. After a year in her homeland, she returns to the United States with her children. Being the sole parent and wage earner, her life is busy but she manages to engage the children and herself in the community outside their home.
Solveig and Jake Sedlet meet through a single’s social group. They blend their families through tradition and marriage.
Throughout the book, Solveig has included pictures of herself and her family along with poetry she has written.
My Seven Lives is a wonderful book that will move you to laughter and tears. It is a well-written documentation of her “lives” and the history she lived through.
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
February 28, 2024
It's difficult to rate a memoir so I gave it three stars. This is the life of Solveig Sedlet and starts from her earliest memories in a small village in Denmark. It was an interesting story and it was written so it was easily followed. It also included many pictures and some of her poetry. The village where she grew up is located not too far from where my greatgrandparents came from which is probably why I read it.
March 28, 2012
I'm a little biased as Solveig was married to my uncle but I loved the book. True to everything I know about family history and a great story about a woman who has been through so much in her life.
David Bookstaff
David Bookstaff
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December 6, 2012It's amazing how others looking at a person who feels they are living an ordinary life find that life to be extraordinary. I am glad that Mrs. Sedlet chose to share her Seven Lives.
March 8, 2014
Interesting life story of the author, who is from lacrosse and lives at the same assisted living place as my mom. The author will join our bookclub discussion of her book in April.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews