Looking Back, Moving Forward: The View from Beyond Seventy

Lois Larkey has been fascinated by stories and history since she was four and listening to family tell tales at the dinner table. As a teenager visiting Europe and Israel, she met people whose stories expanded her undertanding. She wrote in her journal about the challenges they faced and what personal characteristics saw them through hard times.

Twenty-five years of teaching taught Lois about children, and giving birth to her own daughters was the most interesting experience of all. As Lois continued to write vignettes, she contemplated a larger work as a family legacy.

When Lois turned seventy, she started to write the seminal moments that comprise a life with the idea of a collection for succeeding generations. Remembering one thing led to another. Looking back, she realized she had the strength to move forward, to face the challenges of aging, to survive loss and changing relationships, to look toward another rewarding quarter century.