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Miss the introductory or discussion posts for Volume I? Need the reading schedule for the entire read along? Click through!
Major change was ahead: her grandmother's death (March 1911); marriage to Ewan MacDonald, who had been engaged to Maud since 1906 (July 1911); a European honeymoon; a move to Leaksdale, Ontario, where she set up her first home and stepped into the role of minister's wife; and the birth of her two boys (1912 and 1915 -- Maud lost another son to stillbirth in 1914).
The journal also covers Maud's agony over the first World War, a whirlwind trip to Boston to meet her crafty and not always above board editor with the L. C. Page Company, the discovery of her husband's mental illness, and the further facing of her own.
More and more, her journal became a place of escape, "a secret release for her thoughts," a rich resource for writing material, a source of companionship, "a rich record of motherhood," and an honest glimpse into "the life of a working writer."
I picked up Volume II a few weeks ago and am happily settled back in with Maud. For those of you reading, I look forward to hearing what you've taken from your readings when we meet for our discussion post on April 29. If you're finding yourself behind schedule, it's no big deal. Read in a way you can enjoy, and if you feel so inclined, come back at a later date to read posts you've missed.
For those of you not reading, it has been wonderful to hear your enthusiasm for and interest in these posts in person, via email, and in comments. I'm glad you're able to get a sense of Maud's life through what's being shared here.
Remember, throughout the month I post quotess on Twitter (#lmmjournals) and on my May B. Facebook page. Happy reading, and please spread the word!
The work for which we are fitted -- which we are sent into this world to do -- what a blessing it is and what fulness of joy it holds!
-- Lucy Maud Montgomery, May 23, 1910
5 Comments on The Lucy Maud Montgomery Journals Read Along: Volume II Introduction, last added: 4/3/2013
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I've slowed my reading pace a bit to fit in other books, but I am loving this second journal. I was laughing aloud last week at her ill-placed meeting with Earl Grey! :)
Ah. The conversation while perched on the privy steps!
My most recent laugh-out-loud moment came from an entry about a house guest / church member who "is a fluent talker and never, even by accident, says a word worth saying or hearing."
I never realized how tough a life she had.
That's a priceless quote - LOL!
I've so enjoyed these posts, Caroline. What a fascinating person Maude is - and yet what a hard life she had. Those were difficult, despairing times during the war and then the millions who died from the Influenza. I also can't even imagine how difficult to cope and deal with mental illness without the knowledge and medicine we have today. Just dealing with an Asperger son without a proper diagnosis for 14 years just about drove me to the loony bin myself.
Glad you're enjoying this, Kim! It's good to know those not reading can glean something.
So much was hush-hush then. Add the stigma of mental illness to small-town gossip and being a minister and a minister's wife -- it was a lot to handle.