January reads

For whatever reason, my latest trend in reading is to have three books on the go: (1) A book on my bedside table that I read in bed at night; (2) a book on my kitchen table that I read every morning while eating my breakfast; and (3) a book on my Kobo that I read on my daily commute. In January, I finished two out of the three, both of which were incredibly engaging reads.

My friend Laura is always sending me interesting books. For Christmas, she gave me a book written by Acadia graduate Andria Hill entitled Mona Parsons: From Privilege to Prison, from Nova Scotia to Nazi Europe (2000). As soon as I saw it, I instantly remembered seeing it on my fiend Marlene’s coffee table many years ago. I started reading it immediately and the story of Mona Parson’s life quickly drew me in.


Mona was born in 1901, grew up in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, and eventually graduated from Acadia’s Ladies Seminary. She married millionaire Willem Leonhardt in 1937 and they lived as husband and wife in Leonhardt’s native Holland. The majority of the book centres on Mona’s time in Holland with Willem. Unfortunately, the majority of Mona’s time in Holland also coincided with WWII, which set the stage for an extraordinary chapter in Mona’s life.

After only three years of married life, Mona was in Holland when it was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940. Although Mona was a wealthy socialite, she believed it was necessary to resist the Nazi occupation in whatever way she could. Mona and Willem joined a network of people who vowed to do whatever they could to counter the Nazis' invasion and their efforts were often concentrated in helping downed Allied fliers evade capture and help them return to England. This was a cause for which both Mona and Willem were eventually imprisoned:

"In April 1945, in the small town of Vlagtwedde, near the German border in north-eastern Holland, members of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders were astounded when an emaciated and sick woman approached them for help, claiming that, after nearly four years in Nazi prisons and camps, she had walked across Germany following a desperate and dramatic escape. Badly infected blisters on her bare feet were evidence of her three-week trek, but the soldiers were incredulous when she told them she was a Canadian - Mona Parsons from Wolfville, Nova Scotia."

What particularly drew me in about this book was the difficulty Andria Hill admitted she had in piecing together Mona’s story. In putting together this story, Hill relied on correspondence, interviews with people who knew Mona and of course archival records. Hill made several research trips to Holland and references visiting various local archives there. In my own line of work, I also have to often rely on dissection of records to piece together stories of people’s lives. Andria Hill did a great job piecing together the various chapters of Mona’s life.

The second book I read in January was All that is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir by Ashley Judd. I confess to having watched some episodes of “The Judds” that aired on the OWN network. In doing so, I recall an episode where Naomi revealed she was upset after reading a memoir recently written by her daughter Ashley. My first thought was that Ashley Judd seemed young to be writing a memoir. After some Googling, I was then perplexed as to why Archbishop Desmond Tutu would write a glowing review of Judd’s book. Curiosity got the better of me so I decided this book would be the first purchase on the Kobo I received for Christmas.


I was surprised at how engaging the book was, or rather how Ashley Judd’s life story read. For me, the book had three prominent sections. The first focused on Ashley’s childhood – and the abuse, neglect, and depression that came as a result. The second section, which made up the majority of the book, emerged from diaries written by Judd during her work and subsequent travels with Population Services International (PSI). And thirdly, Judd reveals intimate details surrounding her process of therapy and recovery and working her way through it.

The dysfunctional childhood didn’t surprise me. But what did was Ashley’s work with PIS International. I will admit I hadn’t heard of PSI before, but now know that is a global non-profit organization “dedicated to improving the health of people in the developing world by focusing on serious challenges like a lack of family planning, HIV/AIDS, and maternal health.” Judd joined the PIS Board of Directors in 2004 and has even addressed the General Assembly of the UN on its behalf. A large portion of the book was developed from diaries Judd kept during her visits to developing countries on behalf of PSI. What was revealed is not for the faint of heart. Alongside PSI staff, Judd visited the dirtiest and most inhumane brothels in Southeast Asia, Africa and India, so as to meet, talk and educate women trapped in the sex trade. As difficult as it was to read in places, it also inspiring and reminded me to be appreciative of the life into which I was born.

No doubt it was her work with PSI that led to Judd enrolling in Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where she graduated with a Masters Degree in Public Administration in 2010. I could totally associate with her description of the difficulties in enrolling in a masters Degree and entering an academic environment after you have been out of school for more than ten years. I think this book would be appealing on many levels to a lot of women in their late 30s and 40s. Archbishop Tutu summarized it best:

“Ashley Judd has written a deeply moving story — amazingly, searingly, frank. It is her life story, warts and all. As I read her account of her childhood, I ask ‘How could one so traumatized, so abused in childhood, become the woman we know, so caring, so altruistic, so compassionate, so concerned for others, and so joyful?’”
–Archbishop Desmond Tutu