Golden’s Rule By Susan Pettrone Maddie Bergamo seems to have the world on a string with a downwards pull, but sometimes life places a rock in the way of the world and you are thrown off course so badly that you wonder if you’ll ever get back on track. And so it is with Maddie. As the book... more

Golden’s Rule By Susan Pettrone Maddie Bergamo seems to have the world on a string with a downwards pull, but sometimes life places a rock in the way of the world and you are thrown off course so badly that you wonder if you’ll ever get back on track. And so it is with Maddie. As the book begins we see a young teen who has everything going for her playing in a basketball game. Suddenly out of nowhere, her leg collapses under her and she cannot make it move no hard she tries. Her mother insists she must go to the hospital, but before she can be transported, her leg is fine again. Though she is as confused by what happened as everyone else, she wants to get on with her life. Her mother makes an appointment for Maddie to see her doctor, despite her claims that she is fine. But she isn’t fine, as we soon discover when Maddie passes out while eating breakfast. This is where the story really begins to become intense. Dr. Martin insists they take Maddie to the Emergency room to be further evaluated. After a myriad of tests it is discovered that Maddie has a tumor in her brain and the doctors begin to discuss options laid out for them while Maddie struggles with the idea that something is “wrong” with her brain that she cannot fix. While at home. Maddie is forced to take a good look at herself and who she is. She is a pretty bi-racial kid with plenty of dreams, hopes and talents but she cannot get past the tumor. It fills her mind constantly. That is, until her mother gives her a book written by Maddie’s great, great, great Grandmother, Golden Lea Jackson. Her mother explains it is a memoir of her life as a slave and she thinks this is the perfect time for Maddie to read it. Maybe through this book she can gain some wisdom from her ancestor and come to terms with her tumor as well. Maddie begins the book somewhat reluctantly although curious as to what her ancestor might have had to say about being a slave born in the 1830’s. Soon she is immersed in the book and it becomes an important part of her life and her struggle to survive. As her condition worsens and she undergoes treatment, Maddie’s mother reads aloud to her of Golden’s life and her own struggle to gain freedom from slavery. In the book, Maddie can relate to Golden’s fear for the future. During the worst time in her life, Maddie can hear Golden’s words echo within her mind and she gains an inner strength and a link to her roots that she did not have previously. How this book ends is amazing in and of itself and to reveal what Maddie and Golden each undergo would not be fair for the reader. For I as a reader discovered as much about myself as I read this book as Maddie and Golden. I discovered that I wanted them to win and their strength of character and mindset gave me the same sort of inner strength to want to succeed in my quest, as they did in theirs. I would highly recommend this book for a number of reasons. One: It shows how our past can influence our present and perhaps our future and two: It shows that determination and strong will can and do prevail when all seems lost. This is not just a book about a young multi-racial girl with an ancestor who was a slave or even is it about a teen who is suffering from a brain tumor. It is much more than that. It is a story of strength, belief in things unseen, and faith in the future whatever that might be as well as a story of hope and perseverance against insurmountable odds. Read it and see for yourself if you do not gain a bit of strength through the story as I did. It is a winner in many ways and a book not to be missed.