Hilda Frances Young: Community connector

by Pauline Levert

The cover of this book is intriguing. The centre piece of the book jacket is a painting or a photo of a lady with her back to the photographer. She is wearing a white hat, purple jacket and long dark skirt with a paisley pattern on it. In the left hand she is carrying a scarf and purse, and in the right hand a heavy suitcase. The lone woman appears to be in the countryside on the side of a road, waiting for ride. There are trees in the distance and lots of shadows.

Perhaps the book cover encapsulates the theme of the book as it suggests the woman is on a quest for a new life but she is hesitant to show her face. She is going on faith alone that all will be well.

Overall, I found the book a challenge to read on many levels. It was only the second time I had read a memoir with a Christian focus. I found it quite different from the secular books I usually read. Pauline, the author was very honest and very tactful in the telling of her story. She appeared to go into personal detail about a very challenging life but was discrete in that she did not name many people or places in the story so that the focus was on her interpretation of what happened but did not assign blame to specific people. it was a difficult read but a necessary one to show what difference a personal faith makes in how one survives horrendous living conditions. I would be interested in meeting the author and asking her how life has changed since she published the book in 2004.

The positive aspects of the authors life as the end of the book show that she has managed to overcome her situation by leaving her husband and becoming more focused on spreading the word about God. There is redemption and forgiveness with the family.