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Preface
- University of New Hampshire Press
- Chapter
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Preface We survivors of the Great Depression emerged from that time into a different world. Deep and long downturns like that one—and I suppose the present one—are occasions for new worlds to be born; the old ones never truly recover. That is mostly for the best, as these cycles are exactly the ambulation that moves us forward as individuals and as a civilization. In the darkest days of the Depression we were told by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt—his full name was a calming mantra— that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. That was wise counsel . Some of us did not heed the advice and later spent long years trying to escape fearful living and other people’s shadows. It can be done, and at any age, but it is much easier getting into fear and shadows than out. As for hard times generally, it is a fact that poor soils force the richest vintages. In these, my last days, I raise a toast to my Great Depression compatriots: we loved each other and worked and played very hard and with all the creativity we could muster. And I raise a toast to all of you who are doing your best during these present hard times. This is a book about my days and nights as a young woman during the Depression, and my life as an old woman finally waking up to life again. My earlier memoir covers the other times of my life and my long walk. All these stories are offered as evidence that you can and must keep the spirit of adventure alive inside your heart long enough for it to someday reemerge. Life is a difficult choice between our loves and our fears. Love is the better use of a life, if you can find the courage for it. Love is hard, brave work, while fear is too easy—it is an early grave of comfy chairs and magazines and wasted heartbeats and hormones. In fact, I would rather you burned this book than used the reading of it as an excuse to not make some fresh trouble today. For love and wisdom need representation in the world. The job is open and pays awfully well, if you care about the right things. ...