Memoir Introduction

DYING TO LIVE:
Dare I tell....
by
Carole Gwendolyn Parker


Preface

Several purposes lie in the pages of this book. My intentionality initially was to pen a book that would inspire those who had/have experienced misfortune, deprivation or a lack of encouragement. My desire was for readers to find inspiration and hopefully the will-power to improve their own lot in life.
As I wrote, I began to realize my story also includes content relevant to mental illness, physical illness, social isolation, failure and more. Sometimes dreams do come true if one believes one can do something and put one’s mind and energy in the direction of achieving a goal.
I have found that not only is it possible but it can be accomplished. As a former college professor, I also realized I wanted my experience of despair and my message of hope to teach others to learn and profit from my mistakes and gain inspiration from my successes.

Introduction


Driving up SD Route 244 toward Mount Rushmore a swell of emotion rose in my chest. I was actually going to see the famous monument used in the Alfred Hitchcock movie North by Northwest. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to visit the historic monument carved out of a mountain depicting the faces of four great United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The movie North by Northwest is a thriller, involving espionage, mistaken identity and more, with the climax occurring on top of Mount Rushmore. It was a thrilling movie involving Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin Landau and others. I was glued to my seat during the entire movie and at one point the main characters were literally hanging by their fingernails on top of the face of one of the presidents and one could only anticipate them falling to their death. Of course the villains were captured and the movie ended with the marriage of the characters played by Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant.

Now I was actually here. Tears streamed down my face as I anticipated viewing the monument and I openly wept when I saw the four stone faces for the first time. There has only been one other occasion upon which I experienced a similar emotion. December 1983 when I traveled to Paris and I caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower a symbol of romance and love. Being an intense romantic I longed to see Paris in person for many years and visit the Eiffel Tower.

I had come from Elba Street to Mount Rushmore. A trip that was 50 years in the making and that involved driving 2000 miles one way from Hagerstown, Maryland. However, I am ahead of myself. Let’s go to the beginning of the story.