Nell MohneyFor most of my adult life, I have been introduced as "a motivational speaker," "a Christian author," "a Sunday School teacher," "a good friend," "a cancer survivor," "a wife, mother, grandmother," and, during the past few years, "a great-grandmother." I'm totally comfortable with all these titles.
This past week, however, I inadvertently received another one, and I'm deciding whether I can or even want to fit into it. It came when I read Carolyn Curry's wonderful biography, "Suffer and Grow Strong," the story of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, who lived and served in the old South of the 19th century.
Thomas was a beautiful and fascinating woman who made the Civil War more palatable for the women around her. She found meaning and purpose despite tragedy.
She was not quite as colorful or flamboyant as Scarlett O'Hara, but there were times when I felt that I was reading Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" all over again. It was when I put down "Suffer and Grow Strong"that it fell open to a dedication page where she had handwritten a note to me. It simply said, "To Nell Mohney, a strong woman of the South" and was signed "Carolyn Curry." I felt as if I had been redefined!
Actually, I had never thought beyond facts about the Civil War. It has always seemed so long ago and far away. Certainly, I'd never considered myself a strong woman or adaptive to that time period. Yet, as I read "Suffer and Grow Strong," I could see myself in the fashions of that day and could imagine the furnishings of each room of the Clanton Mansion on Green Street in Augusta, Ga. That, to me, is evidence of excellent writing.
My guess is that you will find yourself with some of the same feelings when you become immersed in this amazing biography. You may even get yourself redefined. It is the magic of Curry's research and the choice of words that transported me to a different time frame and historical point of view.
Contact Nell Mohney at nellwmohney@comcast.net.