The fall session of the library book club has begun and many eager readers are contentedly digging into the reading list.
This month we take a look at the biography of George Dawson.
Life is So Good was published in 2000 by Dawson and written with the help of fourth grade teacher Richard Glaubman.
Why did Dawson need help telling his life story? One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is that George Dawson did not begin to learn to read and write until he was 98 years old.
You might think there is nothing remarkable about this but if you stop to think how many times each day you read a test, scan an online news item or check a directional road sign, it is pretty remarkable that someone could go through almost a century of living without reading a single word.
George Dawson was born in 1898 and grew up in the small, southern U.S. town of Marshall, Texas. As a child, he helped on the family farm, went out to work at a saw mill at the age of 12 to help support his family and to help send his younger siblings to school.
As a young man, he worked driving spikes on the railroad, building levees on the Mississippi and breaking horses.
During his long life, he was witness to many extraordinary things but none had such an impact on him as the lynching of a childhood friend for a crime the boy did not commit.
George Dawson was African American at a time of great racial discrimination and lived through the implementation of Jim Crow laws which were upheld in the U.S. Supreme court in 1896, sealing segregation as a way of life for African Americans until the 1960s.
But more than a story of bigotry, hardship and adventure this is a story of a life lived with love, kindness and respect.
George lived an interesting, difficult yet honourable life.
His only regret was not going to school.
As an elderly man he learned to read and said, “I’ve always shared everything I had, but never was able to share any books before. That will be might fine.”
Richard Glaubman himself plays an important part in sharing this incredible tale that spans three centuries.
His own heartwarming story is woven into this inspiring book. Stop by the library and pick up a copy of Life is So Good or drop in to the book club discussion Saturday, Oct. 20 at 11 a.m.
Sue Kline is the Community Librarian at the Summerland Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library.