One Glorious Ambition
By Jane Kirkpatrick
One Glorious Ambition is the novelized account of the life
of Dorthea Dix. Dorthea Dix spent her
early years helping her younger brothers and herself survive a life of poverty
and an abusive father. Dorthea’s mother
suffered a mental illness that rendered her unable to care for her
children. As a young lady, she was sent away
to be raised by her well-to-do family members.
She was expected to marry when she came of age, but her passion for
teaching was her only interest. She ran
several schools from the time she was a teenager into her early twenties. When she closed her schools, she spent much
time traveling and attempting to recover from a long-standing illness. Just before she turned 40, she visited a jail
and saw the terrible conditions there.
She was concerned that the prisoners were all thrown in together, those
who committed petty crimes in the same cell as murderers. Miss Dix also found that the mentally ill
were often imprisoned with these same offenders because there was no other
public institution in which to house or treat them. Prison reform and treatment institutions for
the mentally ill became her “one glorious ambition” as she spent the rest of her
days travelling through different states researching and lobbying for change. Her goals were never realized on a national
level, but she saw great change in several states in her lifetime.
This was an excellent book about the life of Dorthea
Dix. I had heard of her before, but
never knew much about her life. I’ll be
the first to tell you that non-fiction is not my forte, but when the author put
this biography in story form, it became a pleasure to read. As Dorthea’s story progressed I found it hard
to stop reading for want of knowing, “What happens next?” Mis Dix should be an inspiration to men and women
to make a difference where we are with what we have. Overall I give this book an A: a great read
about a woman who set out to make a difference and accomplished long lasting
reform.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through www.bloggingforbooks.com in exchange
for my honest review.
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