Mary Emma & Company

Mary Emma and Company by Ralph Moody
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My bookmobile librarian recommended this book to me. I was happy to see that it would help me reach my non-fiction goal for the year. I've mentioned it before, but I'll admit once again that I struggle with non-fiction. It makes me think of textbooks, and I don't recall any textbooks that I enjoyed reading.

But, Mary Emma and Company did not read like a textbook. It is part of Ralph Moody's autobiographical works. When I first started the book, I kept wondering if it was really fiction, because it read like a novel.

This period of Ralph's life was very interesting. Almost two years his father died, his mother and his five siblings moved from their home in Colorado to Medford, Massachusetts. This was in 1912, and life during that time was very interesting to read about. Ralph's mom and his older sister, Grace, decided they'd support the family laundering fine garments. Ralph worked at a grocery store and his income ($1.50/week) went to help support the family.

His family was very close and very strong. They all did their part to help and were hard workers.