Dawn Emile

This book was very nostalgic for me although I grew up in what was then British Guyana, a small, British colony on the North Coast of South America. I was a shy, bookish, blonde schoolgirl whose home was filled with constant fights between my mother and father, usually caused by my father's unbridled anger. I loved Elvis Prestley and at 7-9 years old, thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen which caused me to draw his profile wherever I could, especially on the wooden seat of our swing. Like Sage I won a scholarship to attend a high school that only allowed girls that won scholarships.The school was run by the Anglican church. It is equivalent to an English Grammar school because our iterary was the same. Also, the school had an assembly hall that doubled as a gym etc. As well, our 'O' level and 'A' level evams were sent away to Oxford University to be marked. Like Sage I was a rebellious teenager who read books until the early morning hours, listened to rock music and played competitive tennis. Similarly, I was sick with sinusitis for three months and only got well when I stayed home for several days. I never got into trouble with a boy though, although I had one or two boyfrends, the first being a young man whose father was a minister at Church of the Nazarene and attended the boy's equivalent of the school I attended. While there are many divergences from Sage's life after high school, I eventually attended University in Canada and received B.A's in English Literature and Psychology. I never taught at University although I was offered a job as an art teacher in Guyana when I passed my 'A' level in Art. I refused because the position was located in the country and not in the city. My speech has now become entirely Canadian as I have dropped many of the English expressions that I used to use such as 'thin as a rail' and 'fly by night' among many others. I can confirm that her account is very authentic except for the mention of Jehovah's Witnesses close to the end. Jehovah's Witnesses do not kneel, nor would they spend many hours watching Channel 13 as they do not spend time with people who are not interested. I know. I was one until recently. The autobiography will bring back memories to British women and educate Americans to life during the era that Sage writes about, although from a dark paradigm of life. Not many happy times recounted unfortunately.