4 out of 4 stars
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Gertrude Ellen Shapard and her twin brother, James Edward Shapard were born on March 15, 1927, at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. Gertrude and Jim loved their grandparents so much, likewise their parents. At the age of six, Gertrude begged her mum to teach her crocheting. Mama was adamant, but later taught her daughter. And at the age of eight, Gertrude became a good crocheter. I found it weird that her grandmother, Mamie Plumlee, had to quit teaching to get married because as at that time, schoolteachers were not allowed to be married.
Gertrude later got married to her boyfriend, Thurman Coulter, and had four kids: Jimmy, Wayne, Carolyn, and David. Quite a pity her marriage didn't last long. She said,
In January 1958, she divorced Thurman.Eventually, Thurman began to seek female friends outside of our marriage. He also became irritable with me and the children. I will not go into details, but this led to very touchy and physical situations. I came from a loving home, where parents did not mistreat their children or spouses, and I could not and would not get used to this behavior, nor would I subject my children to it.
In Dibs and Dabs of my Life, Gertrude Coulter highlights the simple way of life in the good old days when anyone could walk around the block after dark without feeling afraid; most children lived in two-parent homes; children walked to neighborhood schools; life was family-oriented; and mothers were stay-at-home moms.
Jessie May Bridgeforth was their maid for several years—from the time Gertrude was about three years old until she was about ten or eleven years old. They loved Jessie because she was sincere and loving. I laughed when Gertrude tried making pancakes for Jessie to travel with to Detroit, but the pancakes didn't come out good. Good thing she reread the recipe and found out what she missed. Gertrude and James mimicking Mae and Mr. Henley were funny scenes as I imagined them.
Things were much cheaper then. As the author said,
It was quite a pity how Grandma Gertrude lost her immediate family members mysteriously. Her dad died of heart attack. Her twin, Jim, died of heart attack. Her mum suffered broken hips, ruptured appendix, broken arm, and eventually died. Her son, Wayne, died of cancer. I felt hurt as she kept losing her close ones, even her best friend.Bread cost five cents a loaf, eggs were twelve cents a dozen, and we could buy a week’s supply of groceries for five dollars. That would feed our family of five as well as the beggars who came to our door.
The book was quite engaging. Her writing style was very descriptive and expository. And the pace was well developed. However, the book was not proofread carefully. I noticed several errors such as missing punctuations, wrong spellings, and wrong words. These do not diminish the impact of the book on the reader. I must commend the author for her detailed memoir of her eighty years of life on earth. Hence, I rate Dibs and Dabs of my Life by Gertrude Coulter 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to lovers of memoirs.
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Dibs and Dabs of my Life
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