Eleanor Roosevelt A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman

"It was not until I reached middle age that I had the courage to develop interests of my own...From that time on, though I have had many problems, though I have known grief and loneliness that are the lot of most human beings... I have never been bored, never found the days long enough for the range of activities with which I wanted to fill them. And, having learned to stare down fear, I long ago reached the point where there is no living person whom I fear, and few challenges that I am not willing to face."
          -Eleanor Roosevelt, looking back on her life

If I ever read a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, it would have been as a child. I knew she was a much-beloved first lady and an amazing woman but I had so much to learn. The impetus for me to pick up a biography now was learning of a play I will see later in the year called "My Lord, What a Night," which involves singer Marian Anderson. It seems when Ms. Anderson was denied a concert hall in Washington DC by the DAR, Eleanor resigned her membership from that organization in protest. Also I remembered in a Smithsonian traveling exhibit about the workings of the White House, I had learned she was the first to integrate the White House staff.

This particular biography is from the juvenile section. I quite often look for biographies or nonfictions there to get a brief overview of something I may want to explore more in depth later. There were several biographies on the shelf and this one caught my eye because of the author, who I remembered from my teaching days as one who includes many photographs. It did not disappoint.

Eleanor Roosevelt was truly a woman ahead of her time---in the areas of race relations and world peace, in particular. Some of the countless adjectives used to describe her by many people who met her were: warm, sympathetic, compassionate, humble, energetic, independent, a "gracious and magnificent lady."  She was the first First Lady to fly and she made great use of that transportation, traveling the world and being called "Eleanor Everywhere." On most of these trips she was attempting to help people.

I was surprised to learn that Eleanor was a school teacher for quite a while when she was living in New York and even during Franklin's time as governor. She loved teaching and hated giving it up to move to DC when FDR became president. After he passed away she would end up teaching again. As a retired teacher of many years, I was touched.

I am glad to know more about Eleanor Roosevelt. I will be looking for The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I think it would be enlightening to learn more about her life from her own words. She is my new (old) hero!