ALL ABT VERNIE PICKHAM & FAMIL

In All About Vernie Pickham & Family and Selected Writings, Mary Baker tells her story about growing up as "Vernie," an Irish Catholic in Chicago during the 1920s and 1930s. It's an honest, simply told story of hardship, disappointment, love, and laughter. Mary tells all, often with a sense of humor, and describes the "old days" in amazing detail. Her story is illustrated with more than 100 photographs.

Mary had a difficult and unsettled childhood. Her mother and grandmother died when she was just six months old, victims of the 1918 influenza. Her paternal grandmother took Vernie in as a foster mother, but then she died on Mary's sixth birthday. After that she was bounced around between relatives and moved from school to school. When she turned seventeen, her father told her she was on her own.

Despite her rough start, Mary lived a full and adventurous life. She was an avid bicyclist, taking long rides with the Chicago Cycle Club in the 1930s. She loved to sing and dance, and she played the accordion.

This story spans Mary's entire life, including growing old in "The Home" in northern California until her death at age 86 in 2004. Mary's later writings explore her thoughts and feelings on aging, which she approached with realism, a sense of humor, and a commitment to being an independent spirit. Her fun loving and pragmatic approach to life and aging serves as an inspiration to us all - to accept life as it is and to live it to the fullest as long as we can.

This book includes Mary's original life story, written in 1997 at age 79, and twenty five selected essays. It was published in 2015 by her daughter and son, so that others will enjoy "meeting" Mary through her writing.