Roots by Alex Haley

Roots: The Saga of an American Family 

Alex Haley

Published 1974

American Novel

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so excited to find this book at a used bookstore last year and could not wait to read it. Imagine how jealous my other unread books that have been on my shelves for years were when I moved Roots up to the front of the line! 

I had no idea what to expect because I did not do any peeking or prior reading, and I have never watched the miniseries, either of them. The only insight I had was that it was about American slavery. 

So I began reading the beginning of June. 

This book is close to 900 pages, and I anticipated that it would take me three months. However, it was quite engaging, and I managed to finish in six weeks. To be fair, I am reading several books at once, and I do not dedicate all of my time to one book. However, most of the time it was Roots that I wanted to return. (No wonder it is a Pulitzer Prize winner.)

The story began in Africa with the main character at his birth - a boy named Kunta Kinte. I followed him and his family through their tribal traditions from the time Kunta was a baby until he became a man. He was seventeen-years old. 

Soon after, he was captured and taken to America on a slave ship, where readers endure the seemingly endless, dreadful, and horrendous voyage. Haley did not sterilize the unimaginable event. 

When the ship finally arrived in Colonial America, Kunta was purchased and taken away to his new [home]. He attempted to escape four times, and on the fourth attempt, he lost part of his foot after he was recaptured. He was rendered useless but was purchased by the brother of his first master, and it was at this second estate where he began his family saga in America. 

As decades passed, Kunta learned English, became his master's designated driver, married, and had a child - a girl named Kizzy. He loved his daughter and began telling her the names of things in his native African language. He told her the story about his grandfather, grandmother, his parents, and their traditions. He desired for her to know her family origins; he did not want to forget his roots. 

Kizzy grew up, and when she was a teenager, she fell in love. Unfortunately, she became tangled in a plot to help her lover escape, and they were exposed. For that she was sold, never to see her parents again. 

Her new master raped her, and she became pregnant. He named their son George. George's father never treated him special, just because he was his son, but George learned the profitable trade of cock fighting and became valuable to his father. They traveled extensively trying to make money on the sport, while practicing other immoral activities. 

Kizzy wanted to keep the story about her father alive, and she told George about his African grandfather and all the names that he taught her in his African tongue and about the place in Africa where he came from. 

Eventually, George grew up and wanted to settle down. He married a good woman, Matilda, and they had so many children, I lost count. But after the birth of each child, when it was time, he or she was told the story about its African great-grandfather, Kunta Kinte. 

George wanted to save up to purchase his family's freedom, and his father told him if they won big enough through cock fighting then he would give him his freedom. But of course, they lost, and they lost everything. George had to go to England to work off the debt, and then he could get his freedom when he returned.

Meanwhile, woven throughout the family story was American history, from Colonial times to the Civil War and beyond. The author dropped names like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Toussaint, President Jackson, and Nat Turner, and events like the Boston Massacre, the Bill of Rights, the Alamo, and even the history of Haiti, as well as technological advances. It was interesting and put the timeline of the story into perspective. The house slaves heard everything the whites talked about in front of them, and since the whites thought the slaves were ignorant, they never considered that they were picking up on current events. 

While George was in England, his son Tom became the family leader in his father's absence. It was pre-Civil War, and the slaves often heard about rebellions, uprisings, and freedom up North. Tom decided he wanted the family to plan an escape, but they worried that they would be split up if they were caught. 

Unexpectedly, due to poor financial management, they were going to be sold, but thanks to their master's wife, most of the slaves were able to stay together, especially Matilda and her children. Thankfully, they were sold to a kind couple. Soon Tom found a wife, Irene, a half-Indian, half-black slave, and they had a son, Uriah. 

After several years, George returned from England to learn that his family had been sold to a new master. By then, his mother, Kizzy, had died. But before he sought out his wife and children, he had to get his papers from his old master, which he had promised to give to George once he returned. Those papers meant freedom. 

George got his freedom, and he found his family, but it was awkward being free and on the plantation. His new grandson, Uriah, asked him what being free was, and he replied, 

Free mean ain't nobody own you no mo'.

That conversation led to the story of the African great-great grandfather, Kunta Kinte.

After the Civil War, the slaves were free to leave or stay; and since George had staked out land in Tennessee beforehand, they decided to leave and put down roots in a new state where they would build their homes, businesses, and even a church.

Time passed, and Tom and Irene's daughter, Cynthia, married a man named William. They had a daughter named Bertha, and the tradition of telling the story about the African continued, just as it had been done with Cynthia, and Tom, and his father and grandmother before him. 

Possible spoiler ahead...

Following WWI, Bertha married a man named Simon, and they travelled east to attend college together. He would study for his master's degree in agriculture, and Bertha would study music. Nine months later, without a word to her parents, Simon and Bertha made a surprise visit to their home in Tennessee, with a bundle. And in it was a baby boy, six-week old Alex Haley.

That was the big surprise for me, and I loved it. In the proceeding final chapters, Haley narrated his life growing up and hearing the story about the African. He heard it all, over and over again, and it left a great impression on him. The seed was planted.

End spoiler

In his adult years, Haley decided to investigate and research, read and discover the truth. It took him ten years to write his story, and how he did it was a story in itself. I won't tell you here, in case you want to read it for yourself. I, for sure, am quite impressed. 

Haley said that the Western culture is "so conditioned to the 'crutch of print' that few among us comprehend what a trained memory is capable of." I love books and reading, but he is right. Word of mouth is the way we used to give and receive information and knowledge and stories; but not anymore. We rely heavily on recording it or writing it down, though it is not such a bad activity; however, we have lost the art of memorization and reciting from memory.

This is a great story, a true story about a family, a story about a journey to find the origins of a family because these stories help us to know who we are, in part. It is also a necessary heartbreaking story about history. And though this history be painful to read and demonstrates injustice, it is essential to preserving the truth.

Haley's last words of his story are this:

I also feel that they join me in the hope that this story of our people can help to alleviate the legacies of the fact that preponderantly the histories have been written by the winners. 

A final note, if you choose to read Roots, be forewarned that you will be reading the n-word a lot! And there are cultural and religious differences regarding how women are treated, especially since Kunta was Muslim, and that's just the way it was in his time and place and tradition. 

P.S. It was easy reading, but definitely epic. 

These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner

These is My Words:  The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

Nancy E. Turner   

Published 1998    

American Historical Fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Back in the day when I was able to freely peruse my library (as I am no longer permitted to enter unless I muzzle myself, which I won't), I found this little gem in the used book sale corner. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. 

I initially thought this was a completely true story, but it is more like historical fiction; however, the author did use a family memoir (written by her great-grandfather, I think), for the setting and plot, and her great-grandmother as the model for the main character, Sarah Prine, filling in missing information with a charmingly creative imagination. 

These is My Words took place in the 1880-90s, the pioneer days of the American Southwest, and followed one young woman's life in the Arizona Territories with her family and into her young adulthood with a family of her own. 

At the introduction, Sarah Prine is a somewhat inexperienced 17-year old. She had just learned to write and was the reason she decided to keep a diary of her family's journey. Challenges and loses forced them to remain in the Arizona Territories where they lived in constant danger of nature, wild animals, banditos, and Native American attacks. Nonetheless, Sarah proved to be a tough young woman who knew how to ride a horse and handle a rifle. 

Sarah Prine was an extremely vivid, determined, and unyielding character that I often thought about when I was not reading the book. I was eager to return to the story to find out what happened next. She is genuine and animated and like a familiar acquaintance. Her memory will stay with me forever, I suppose.

There was much hardship, disappointment, danger, and suffering throughout the story. At times, it was so heartbreaking, I could not avoid crying, which is not something I do easily when reading a book. But such adversities were frequent and commonplace then and there, and women and mothers must endure these trials with steel courage and enduring hardiness, or loose their minds, which did happen. 

There is also a romance in the story that made me blush. Ok, I blush easily. Captain Jack's love for Sarah is sweet and tender and hers is fiery and protective, just like her character. Their relationship was full of conflict at first, and Sarah did not see it coming; meanwhile, Turner kept it comical for the reader: 

I looked down under [my blanket] and I was only wearing some long drawers and my old camisole, the one that is bursting full of me on the top and had come untied in the bargain, and what a fine sight I was, freezing cold and my hair all around my shoulders, and I started to cry again. I am ruined.

Sh-sh, [Capt. Jack] says. There's no wrong done in a good cry, and I was beginning to wonder if you ever did. I would never hurt you, he says. And as long as no one knows, no one is ruined. Besides, it would be much more of a shame to be ruined by a rumor than by truth, and then he slipped out of my wagon and away in the foggy morning. 

And that was only the beginning. 

Anyway, it was a really great read, and there are two more books in a series that follow this one. Also, Hamlet, I thought of you while reading this, and if you have not read it, yet, this is definitely your style. 

Eight Twenty Eight: When Love Didn't Give Up by Ian and Larissa Murphy

Eight Twenty Eight When Love Didn’t Give Up 

Ian & Larissa Murphy

Published 2014 

American Memoir

⭐⭐⭐

Eight Twenty Eight is a memoir about a young couple in love, Ian and Larissa Murphy, who were preparing to spend their lives together, when, in 2006, Ian was involved in an automobile accident that changed their lives forever. 

Ian suffered a traumatic brain injury, which affected his short-term memory and speech, as well as other functions. Naturally, he would have to relearn how to walk and talk; but would he remember Larissa? Would he still remember he loved her? Would he still want and need her? These were questions Larissa needed to know because it would determine what she would need to do with her own life.

Larissa knew she still loved Ian and wanted to be with him, but she wanted Ian to decide if she should remain. Doctors had told her that he would not remember her the same way, but she refused to give up.

When Ian came home from hospital care, Larissa lived with his family, learning to care for Ian, talking to him and helping him remember. Slowly, as his ability to communicate thoughts and feelings improved, Larissa believed she began to understand what Ian wanted. One thing was certain: he had retained his charming humor and keen wit.

Larissa got her answer on Christmas Eve 2009, when Ian proposed. Eight months later, they were married in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by loving family and friends, and they have continued being a testimony for God's grace, mercy, and enduring love, which never gives up. 

Much of Ian's and Larissa's story is about Larissa's transparent struggle with God. Who wouldn't be angry? But God used Ian's injury to expose Larissa's weakness in her faith. After Ian's accident, his love for God was a strong foundation, and it was the kind of faith that Larissa wanted. 

The last chapter is the best because it demonstrates Larissa's maturity in Christ as she learned to make decisions "based on dependence [on] God, trusting that goodness and mercy would follow." She rightly questioned her ability to be an adequate helper for Ian. She had to justify her decision to stay with him when many believed he no longer had value.

Larissa asked Ian, "How are you so nice?" He replied, "I have an incredible Savior." 

Ian's faith perplexed Larissa, and she knew it was a faith she did not have but wanted to absorb. 

Isn't this what I have been called to? This lie of dependency on the One who made me? This life that doesn't make me comfortable, because the discomfort is exactly what I need to make heaven more irresistible?

After the accident and a year before Ian and Larissa were engaged, Ian's father succumbed to his battle with cancer. But before he passed, he wrote about how he saw God's amazing love and sacrifice through Larissa's dedication and loyalty to his son, Ian. In 2008, he wrote of Larissa:

I see God in the way that Larissa has stayed with Ian through this. I see the Savior in her devotion. When we see Larissa and Ian together, we should not be amazed by her devotion and love. Instead we should be pointed to Christ, amazed by His love for us and the miracle it is that we can reflect even a portion of that. 

Some critics of the book complained that jumping around from past, present, and future was confusing, but I was able to follow along, so that wasn't a problem for me. Again, others found Larissa's tone very angry, but I appreciated it because I felt empathy for her. She was young and had a future planned with Ian that did not include a brain injury. Marriage to Ian would mean she would be the sole provider, they would need to live with others who could help Ian, and it would never be a normal marriage. However, Larissa learned that there would be blessings even in what she called their "sovereignly disabled marriage." 

In this place, where I look at Ian and see God and the cost Jesus paid so that we could know and experience love, we see clearly that He does work all things -- together. 

Testament of Friendship The Story of Winifred Holtby by Vera Brittain

Testament of Friendship

The Story of Winifred Holtby

Vera Brittain

Published 1940

English Biography

⭐⭐⭐

After extremely enjoying Testament of Youth, by Vera Brittain, I was encouraged to read Testament of Friendship, also by the same author. Brittain has a deeply emotional writing style, which I like, and she does not disappoint in this fairly long biography about her intimate relationship with Winifred Holtby. 

They met at college (1919) and flourished into a genuine friendship until Holtby's death in 1935. If you do the math, you will see they only had about fifteen years to grow together, but it was so full of experience and history that it was equal to a lifetime. Brittain said of their relationship, 

Although we didn't exactly grow up together, we grew mature together, and that is the next best thing.

You could say they were cut from the same cloth: both were history majors and both became journalists, authors, lecturers, and activists. They travelled together and were roommates for a while. When Brittain married, Holtby lived with Vera, her husband, and their children. They also encouraged and inspired each other in their careers and private lives, which actually weren't so private since they knew everything about each other. Both women were essential parts of each other's lives.

Just a sidebar: My children and I are reading about Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and I chuckled to find her companionship with Susan B. Anthony and the parallels of their passions extremely similar to Brittain's and Holtby's relationship and inspirations. Stanton was the married mother, like Brittain, and Anthony remained single, like Holtby. Anthony was so close to Stanton and her children that she was known as "auntie," just like Holtby was. 

Back to Testament of Friendship...there was much history in this biography: the attack on England during the War, conditions of post-WWI Europe, the problems with the League of Nations, the state of English occupied South Africa, the issues of feminism, and so much more. Brittain purposefully used the opportunity to give a thorough picture of the historical setting of her friendship.

I finished this book a few months ago and found it wasn't as intense as Testament of Youth, the powerful memoir of Brittain's experience during WWI. Friendship does not compare to Testament. Instead, I was left smiling and coveting that Holtby left such an impression on Brittain, inspiring her to write and paint a most beautiful picture of their relationship. It should make all of us wish for such a friendship with another human being. I suppose that is what I take away most from having read this. 

I did wonder the validity of their platonic relationship, and apparently I was not the only one. Brittain denied any questions about a lesbian romance, and frankly, it is not important because it is their business. But there was no denying that they cared intimately for one another, and their friendship was a blessing to have during life's greatest trials of war, heartbreak, pain, and suffering. We need to have more friendships like this.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS?

If you like biographies, memoirs, history, feminism, and poetry -- Holtby was a poet -- and you appreciate deeply emotional narratives (told at a slower pace), then you may like this story about love, life, and friendship.

And the Mountains Echoed

And the Mountains Echoed

 Khaled Hosseini  

Published 2013

Afghani Novel

After enjoying Khaled Hosseini's previous two novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, I had great expectations for And the Mountains Echoed; but I was somewhat disappointed.

Hosseini is a wonderful storyteller, and that is not lacking here. His characters are true, transparent, and humanly flawed. His stories are also historically set in a variety of countries. This novel covers six decades of numerous generations, and the characters are all interconnected, in some way, though not always so obvious. 

Like his other stories, one of his strongest themes is family connection, and how they are sometimes destroyed by circumstances, like war and poverty. There is also a focus on cultural norms and how that affects natural emotions like love and desire.

One of my problems with this story, however, was that it was experimental, and it had numerous sub-stories with different characters; when one new story began, with new characters set in a new time period, the other story ended. I wanted the first story to continue because I had already invested my interest in the characters. However, throughout the stories, you see the little connections to previous stories and characters, which are acceptable; but now you have to become newly invested in these latest characters. It can feel abrupt, at times. 

The end of the book linked all of the stories together, like lose ends. Unfortunately, some stories were not as interesting as the very first story; I lost interest and started skimming. If I start skimming, that means I might put the book down. However, I did finish, but, regretfully, the ending was a little anti-climatic. 

So, sadly, I do not have a great review for And the Mountains Echoed. But I will take this time to reiterate: Hosseini's other two novels were outstanding. 

IS THIS BOOK FOR YOU?

If you are a fan of contemporary lit with a multi-cultural and multi-generational story, in an international setting that covers themes of family, love, disappointment, consequence, and sacrifice, and you do not mind a unique story-telling style that crosses decades and multiple characters, then you may like to give this a try. A plus is that Hosseini is a good storyteller. However, I would recommend, if you have not read this author, to start with his first novel, The Kite Runner. 

I understand he has a new book, Sea Prayer, and I may want to check that out someday.

Have you read And the Mountains Echoed? What did you think?

Change Me: the Ultimate Life-Changing Handbook by Rick Thomas

Change Me: 

The Ultimate Life-Change Handbook 

Rick Thomas 

Published 2018

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was reluctant to share a review of this because it is a personal, self-examination-type book. I was at my wits end when I purchased it from RickThomas.net. I knew if I wrote a review, I would have to share my marriage story, which is not easy, but I feel like the message is urgent.

So, here it goes:

Marriage is hard. I thought I knew everything, but I was wrong. I also thought I was the only one who had problems, but the more I read, the more I learned that marriages are the same everywhere. 

I thought if my husband and I read a book or listened to podcasts on marriage, it would fix us. Wrong. My husband was not interested. He shared not my concerns or desires. If you asked him today, he may say everything was fine. He is perfectly happy, and all his needs are met. 

Nonetheless, it is frustrating when one spouse recognizes that something is not right and needs to be addressed, while the other disagrees. What then? I tried to get help. I sought validation from friends, my church, and even marriage counseling. I met with a therapist who told me she could not help me if my husband was unwilling to come; she "did not have fairy dust." 

Last December was my last option. I found biblical counseling in my area, and I thought for sure they would validate my feelings. But on the day of my appointment, when I arrived at the office, no one was there. Everyone was sick, but they had failed to call their clients to cancel. I sat in my car, feeling pitiful...like God was telling me, "NO! Now put on your big girl pants, go home, and stop searching for validation." 

I bet my husband would be glad that my little plan to seek recognition failed...again. He asked, "So now what?" I did not know. Except I remembered that Rick Thomas offered online counseling, and since I could not get adequate counseling through my church or appropriate friends, or other means, I would give it a try. 

The first thing Thomas suggests before going through his online counseling is to read his book Change Me. So I purchased it and started reading, not knowing what to expect. Originally my husband willingly agreed to read it with me, even though he did not think we needed to change anything, and as Thomas says: the person who seeks change in the marriage is usually the person who needs to do the changing. 

To speed this up, I read the entire book by myself because I could not wait to read one chapter a week. I desired answers quickly. Reading with my husband sometimes caused arguments when we talked about our marriage, which totally defeated the purpose. So I quit reading with him.

Now, let me back track: the first seventeen years of marriage I was distracted by children -- babies, toddlers, and preteens. Homeschooling five kids took up the bulk of my day. I was aware of existing marital issues, but I did not have time, energy, or knowledge to wage war on them. I was too busy.

As the kids got older and more independent, my time was freed up, but about the same time, my husband was promoted to general manager, and work took up more of his time. He brought work home, or he came home late. He began to travel internationally. A lot! Plus, he went back to school to finish his degree. 

And then there was the invention of private entertainment...so where the TV was the center of his life, in the living room, occupying his free time, he was now able to be alone in the bedroom with his iPad and headphones, completely disconnected from the kids and me; I was feeling very neglected. This was not my idea of marriage and family. (Nor is it God's, but that's His battle with my husband; not mine.)

Hence, for the last six years, I waged war on my marriage. But I kept losing.

Eventually...it was over. And thankfully, God had won. That was the day I walked into the house from my non-existent biblical counseling appointment, totally defeated. 

Even though I thought I would try that on-line counseling, this book proved to be enough. It caused me to examine my heart and change my thinking.

Although this is a book about changing yourself, here is how I applied it to my marriage: 

• I will NEVER be able to change my spouse. Only God can do that. 
• My spouse may NEVER EVER change!!! 
• The only person I can change is me, and if I want my circumstance to change, I am probably the person who needs to do the changing.
• I have to hand over all of my desires to God. That includes: desires for a godly husband, a godly father for my kids, and a Christ-centered marriage. This is what it means to "die to self." Even though the Bible encourages godly marriages, God does not guarantee I will ever have one.
• I may have an "unchanging problem" and it may NEVER be God's will to change my spouse. "It is easier to get over the disappointment of something that is final than it is to get over the disappointment of something that could change." I must discard my expectations.
• I cannot have a true communal relationship with my spouse unless we are sharing a transparent, transcendent relationship with God and each other. This is what every married couple should be pursuing with each other; but my partner may not agree, in which case, it is impossible to experience this, unless God changes him.
• God is the ONLY person I can truly trust because "He is for me." 
• If I am able to trust my spouse with the vulnerabilities of my heart and soul, then that is a blessing. It means my spouse demonstrates that he is for me, "not throwing me under the bus." (Sadly, I know how that feels.)
• Some ways to kill my marriage: have the last word, cheap shots, twist words, disconnect, be unaccountable, withhold encouragement, complain, be over sensitive, overcommit, punish for past sins.
• Some ways to heal my relationship: listen more, encourage, give grace, make time, confess sin, be kind, be content, seek God's strength, be transparent.

There's a whole lot more!!

To change my situation, I ask God to change my heart and help me to be content in my circumstance. My joy and contentment must be in Christ, not my marriage or my husband, which were idols. Warning: do not idolize your husband or marriage! It will cause great disappointment.

The good thing is that God prepared my heart for this change long before this book. When I began to declare war on my husband's sin (which was not my place), I was rejected. My husband did not understand my bitterness and resentment, and it only pushed him away. So in my disappointment, I continued to turn to God by reading my Bible and praying more; in turn, I developed a deeper relationship with Him. I began to desire the things of the Lord. And I was beginning to see all of the sin in my life.

When I read Change Me, I was ready to receive the hard truth: I have to sacrifice my expectations for a perfect marriage and husband; give God all of my desires, including my life, my marriage, my husband, my children, my future, and my pleasures. I also learned to repent of the sin in my heart. In the process, I found more freedom from the burdens I placed on myself as a wife.

Again, marriage is really hard. Before you commit, prepare yourself for the truth. Marriage is not a Jane Austen novel. There is no fairytale, and romance is short-lived. Marriage does not exist for your happiness. 

Marriage takes work and requires the same effort from both people; make sure you and your future spouse agree on what that is. If you are already married, both of you should pursue joy and contentment in Christ together, but if the other is not willing, be prepared to do it separately. Be encouraged, however, because your relationship with Christ is the most important one you can ever have. It's forever...marriages are not. 

Another good resource for a Christ-centered marriage: Married for God.

P.S. If you do not have or are not interested in a relationship with Christ, this book won't help you. But if you do want a relationship with Christ, this book does show you how to do that. Also, if you are already a Christian, but not ready for truth or self-examination, this book may not be helpful either.  

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

Testament of Youth 

Vera Brittain  

Published 1933  

English Memoirs

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SUMMARY

A young woman's coming of age experience is shattered and transfigured over night by World War I. This is the passionate, true story of Vera Brittain, who fought to further her education at Oxford, only to postpone her attendance to serve as a volunteer nurse during the Great War. In only a few short years, she had experienced traumatic suffering, sacrifice, and loss, which altered her life mission forever. She wrote in order to share her story and the story of her generation.

DETAILS (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

This story is well-written, though at times slightly wordy; nonetheless, Brittain tells a captivating story, 600+ pages long. The reader will sense her bitterness towards the stifling expectations of her time, especially the traditions of her parents and their generation. Brittain was never meant to fit or follow those customs. She was born before her time and blazing her own trail.

It may seem obviously outlandish to 21st-century readers, but for Brittain's generation, and more specifically for provincial young ladies, such as herself, marriage and motherhood were supposed to be her only options for the future. But she fought the status quo and won her chance to enter Oxford, though many doubted her success.

Then WWI began. Brittain referenced her journal to retell the events of the War as they occurred in her time. Her brother, and his friends, including one young man whom she developed a romantic relationship, patriotically went off to fight for England. Determined to sacrifice herself for her country, Brittain also left Oxford and volunteered as a nurse.

She was stationed in England, Malta, and France (even close to the front line - as per her request), and experienced the ravages of war. She lost her fiancé, two other male friends, and finally, her brother. It devastated her conscience and transformed her life course.

After the War, Brittain was understandably discouraged and bitter about life and the world. She reluctantly completed her education at Oxford, focusing on history, and soon after, worked as a journalist and became a speaker for the newly formed League of Nations. She also struggled as a frustrated novelist. She secured a best friend, who lovingly reminded her of her brother and fiancé; and she also gained a romantic admirer, attracted to her intellect, whom she committed herself to marriage.

For the remainder of the story (which ends in 1925), Brittain wrote about her fervent development of socialist ideals and the ambitious quest to end war for good and maintain peace in the world.

OF A PERSONAL NOTE

Brittain's story resonated with me because I like to know people on a personal level where I can better understand why they think the way that they do, whether I agree with them or not.

Her story reminded me of my mother's story (who was a young girl during World War II). She, too, desired to attend college; yet even in 1960s America, her parents never heard of such an idea. Instead, she was sent to work . . . to help pay for her brother's college tuition. This unjust decision burns my mother even today. 

It was not until her marriage that she put herself through community college, to at least obtain an associate's degree. And my grandparents still thought her behavior outrageous, especially as a wife and young mother. But they were of a different time, and lived with different life experiences, just as Brittain's parents and their peers did. Future generations often look back on previous generations as primitive and benighted.

One looming question Brittain often asked was this (in my words): How are women to find satisfaction in education and fulfilling careers, yet, still make room for marriage and motherhood? In her words:

Could marriage and motherhood be combined with real success in an art or profession? If it couldn't, which was to suffer -- the profession or the human race?

This is an essential question for women even today because, yes, finding time for a successful career is time-consuming. But more women are doing this today, completing college and developing a career; but the truth is, adding a husband and children complicates everything. Or dare I say . . . pursing education and a career complicate marriage and family? I guess it depends on your priorities.

Not all women want to pursue education or career, as some are just as desirous to focus solely on family; hence, the human race will go on regardless; but, in truth, I think more are doing it all, though something is suffering -- if not the career, than the family, and if not those, than the woman is burdening herself beyond her control, which is the frustrating struggle of a woman's life, as Brittain identified.

Brittain also understood that marriage was an emotional risk, something she was not willing to experience, given the pain she had endured during the years of the War. She admitted that women do desire male companionship, including intellectual and romantic, but marriage is certainly a risk. I cannot repeat that enough. Even Scripture says (again, my words): singleness is good, but if you cannot remain single, get married (though this is in reference to spreading the gospel).

Now, other hot topics included nationalism, patriotism, heroism, and pacifism. Brittain believed that a world organization of leaders would solve the war problem by reigning in man's desire for control, conquest, and possession. That is why she adopted the socialist ideology because they claimed to have the answer to ending war, poverty, and inequality -- issues closest to her heart.

But she soon learned that the League of Nations was full of hot air. Sadly, I am not sure (yet) she discovered that Socialists have their own desires for control and power because in all of human history, small groups of men always gain power over and control the masses. It does not matter what label is given their ideology; they always make similar promises, and the end result is always misery for everyone else. She quotes Ecclesiastes:

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 

Furthermore, I disagree that patriotism is what causes war, although Brittain may have switched patriotism and nationalism. She may have clarified that patriotism was used to fuel men to rise up and fight for their country. Patriotism -- a love of one's own country -- is good and healthy for citizens; but nationalism, in which greedy, power-hungry men, who seek to dominate because they have a higher view of their place in the world over others, is dangerous and does cause war. I believe Brittain did discuss that her generation was duped into patriotism when it had nothing to do with the War.

As for heroism, Brittain found it unnecessary and reckless; but I disagree. Heroes conquer fear and confront evil; heroes stand for righteousness. Heroes risk their lives for the weak. And this is even more prevalent in men because they are designed by God to be protectors of their homes and families.

However, the fact that saddened me the most is the author's spiritual hopelessness in the future. Unfortunately, Brittain's parents did not train up Vera and her brother in the knowledge of Christ. She had zero hope in the resurrection and everlasting life. She did not know the Lord.

And then I remembered, with a startling sense of relief, that there was no resurrection to complicate the changing relationships forced upon men and women by the sheer passage of earthly time. There was only a brief interval between darkness and darkness in which to fulfill obligations, both to individuals and society, which could not be postponed to the comfortable futurity of a compensating heaven. 

Why do I bring this up? Because she talked about this a lot. It was a source of bitterness for her, as if she knew there was a God, but she was really angry with Him. Everyone suffers to some degree in this life because there is a purpose and point to suffering. Brittain begrudged her parents generation because they enjoyed a seemingly peaceful world; but her own coming of age was shattered with war and political upheaval.

The middle-aged and the old had known their period of joy, whereas upon us catastrophe had descended just in time to deprive us of that youthful happiness to which we had believed ourselves entitled.

No, it was not fair; but if she had any understanding of the way of the world, she may have better understood that it really was not about her or her generation, that much of it was out of her control, and that war was and is always to be because of sin and wickedness that abounds on earth, which began at the very beginning of time, in the Garden.

. . . but at least I can begin by trying to understand where humanity failed and civilisation went wrong.

Her hope was in man-made solutions, which also makes me sad because man is utterly corruptible. Man will never have peace on this earth, so long as he is at war with God in his heart.

We should never be at the mercy of Providence if only we understood that we ourselves are Providence; our lives, and our children's lives, will be rational, balanced, well-proportioned, to exactly the extent that we recognise this fundamental truth. 

So when you combine a group of godless men and call them the League of Nations, or the U.N., or have leaders sign peace treaties, they are only temporary fixes to the world's problems. But Brittain could not known this because her hope was solely in man.

By the way, while I hate war, I also strongly believe that God does permit men to go to war, especially to restrain evil, even if it means a loss of life. Hence, I am curious what Brittain's opinion was of World War II and if she ever wrote about it.

There is much more to this story, so many struggles and conflicts on this personal journey. Brittain is very raw and truthful about her youthful ignorance and emotional disappointments. I know I had a lot of disagreements with the author, but I absolutely appreciated this momentous work of insight and discovery. No one can discount her experiences; this is her personal story. 

The demonstration would not . . . be easy; for me and my contemporaries our old enemies -- the Victorian tradition of womanhood, a carefully trained conscience, a sheltered youth, an imperfect education, loss of time, blasted years -- were still there and always would be; we seemed to be forever slaying them, and they to be forever rising again.

IS THIS BOOK FOR YOU?

If you enjoy biographies, stories about World War I, especially in a woman's voice, and particularly prefer works on early feminism and pacifism, this is an essential story for you. There is also an intellectual feel about the work, and a sweet romance that blossoms in the early part of the story. But beware because it is heart-wrenchingly devastating, though there is a sense of recuperation at its end.

In one sense, I was my war, my war was I; without it I should do nothing and be nothing. If marriage made the whole fight harder, so much the better; it would become part of my war and as this I would face it, and show that, however stubborn any domestic problem, a lasting solution could be found if only men and women would seek it together.