Footfalls

In this firsthand account of life in the United States over a period of nearly a hundred years, the only constant is change. World War I brought to an abrupt end the society in which the author had grown up, leaving in its place a society whose values were the antithesis of the old. This was only the first of a series of shock waves that have succeeded one another with breathtaking swiftness throughout this century. Against this background, we observe the difficulties of a child with an inquiring mind in an authoritarian household, the efforts of a young woman to fit herself into a role for which she had had no preparation, the strategies by which she brought herself through a decade of economic stagnation, and finally the satisfactions of a marriage that has endured for fifty years. The theme of the middle years is the search for meaningful work, a goal that was elusive until it was freed from the need to earn a living. The subsequent years have been years of quiet fulfillment, unspectacular but rich in personal relationships, with rewards no less real for being intangible. After ninety years Mrs. Rogers still found life good. Read this book and take heart.