Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood

From Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christian Science, to Deepak Chopra, Americans have struggled with the connection between health and happiness. Barbara Wilson was taught by her Christian Scientist family that there was no sickness or evil, and that by maintaining this belief she would be protected. But such beliefs were challenged when Wilson's own mother died of breast cancer after deciding not to seek medical attention, having been driven mad by the contradiction between her religion and her reality. In this perceptive and textured memoir, Wilson surveys the complex history of Christian Science and the role of women in religion and healing.

Barbara Sjoholm is the author of more than twenty works of fiction, nonfiction, and translations. Until 2001, when she changed her last name, she wrote as Barbara Wilson. Her books include The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland and Incognito Street: How Travel Made Me a Writer, and her travel essays have appeared in Slate, Smithsonian, and the New York Times, as well as many literary journals. She was the co-founder of two publishing companies, Seal Press and Women in Translation. She is also a translator from Norwegian and Danish. She lives in Port Townsend, Washington.