Only a Dot on the Map: St. John Remembered

by Charlotte Fish Lacey

Charlotte Fish Lacey did something remarkable after spending two vacations on St. John in the U.S. Virgin She asked for an unpaid leave of absence from her elementary school in Massachusetts so she could teach in the Virgin Islands for a year. She sent her resume to the Virgin Islands Department of Education on St. Thomas and was thrilled to accept a position as a permanent substitute. Very few people had telephones on the island, and she had to report to work every day as teachers could not call in sick. She later taught second and third grades. At the end of the school year, she received a call from the superintendent of schools in Massachusetts, asking if she was planning to return for the new school year. She asked if her leave could be extended. "We have about fifty applicants for your job" he told her. She wasn't ready to come back and ended up staying on the island for twenty-five more years. This is the story of some of her adventures in Only a Dot on the Map.

Genres: Nonfiction

52 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2014

Reviews

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, short and sweet. Loved reading your stories about St John and wish you had kept writing as I found myself wanting more. Excellent writing and a quick and easy read. This was a goodreads win.

[Laura Elgie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, reading about Charlotte's life in St John was interesting. I like that the stories were varied and short.

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Note: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.)

A short- very short; around 40 pages- memoir of the author's 25 years living and teaching on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands. A collection of small slice-of-life anecdotes that you might hear if you spent an hour in conversation with the author. It'll be of interest to people who know the island and will recognize the place names; if you're hoping to recognize some of the people, though, be aware that the author refers to everyone by initials. N, P, HS, and so forth. Maybe you'll recognize them anyway.

If you're unfamiliar, though, and hoping to learn about the island, you'll not find this an informative book.

[Seth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book as a giveaway on Goodreads. First off, I was really excited because I love the island of St. John. But this book was entirely too short and really not that interesting. The author used letters for the names of friends and others in the book, which was annoying. She also really didn't introduce the characters she would just say B said this. Who the heck is B? Anyways, I just wish there was more, more stories, more depth, etc. I am a fast reader but this only took me like 20 minutes to read.

[Phyllis Gauker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish there'd been more. It was too short. I preceded you as a teacher in the USVI by a decade, but was gone by the time you arrived. Didn't sound as if things had changed that much! Loved to hear the local names. Write another chapter or two.

[Joan Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining little book of 41 pages. A collection of anecdotes from the authors time of living in St. John. A good book to have when you just have a little bit of time. You get to see a side of the island that most tourists often miss.