A number of years ago this author was quoted by Thomas S. Monson in a closing address given at a conference. The book he referenced was titled "Happy All My Life". My search for that book has been fruitless, so I settled for this one -- an autobiography of a woman who lived a full life against great odds. With the encouragement of a well-known book critic of the day Borghild relates her journey from childhood through middle age.
The daughter of Norwegian emigrants to Minnesota, born in the late 1800's, Borghild suffered visual impairment which also disfigured her face. Her extra-ordinary parents gave her a foot up into living fully and productively. This was a good thing for many reasons but especially because by the time Borghild was in her early twenties she was an orphan and left to raise her younger siblings. There were many friends, teachers, and extended family to help along the way. There were also bullies and unsympathetic peers and adults as well.
Through Borghild's experience the reader can examine facing one's own fears, be they real or imagined. The reader can contemplate forging ahead, sticking tenaciously to goals, and finding a way where there seems to be none. The reader can embrace, with Borghild, heart break, discouragement, healing, and joy.
I found an added dimension of enjoyment reading this book, as it gave me a peek into the time of my grandmother (although she grew up in another part of the county). I found myself wishing that my own ancestors would have made notes of the minutiae of their daily lives -- how they stocked their kitchens and dealt with housekeeping, what they studied and read, what they wore, lessons they learned from parents, their struggles and triumphs, how they overcame failures, and so forth.
As an example I will share here what appears on every fiftieth page or so in Borghild's story...
p. 50 At the age of nine she is given piano lessons and tells how she contrives to learn to play, despite the difficulty she has reading the music.
p. 100 She tells about how she is able to teach with her limited vision. There are students who are bullies and those who would disrupt the class. She shares how she looked for something about them to compliment and as she learned more about them was able to redirect their negative energy and help them discover good in themselves and build upon that.
p. 150 She tells about becoming an advocate of children's literature and giving book reviews on a weekly radio program.
p. 200 Spoiler alert. She tells about re-training her eyes after a pivotal surgery.
I found myself thinking that all our so-called advances in education were already being practiced during the first half of the twentieth century and that we have actually lost much ground in what is expected from an education these days. I loved reading about how she helped her high school students bring Scott's "The Talisman" to life and how they were able to engage in lively conversation about their reading.
Three cheers for heroism, which this woman certainly embodies.