Barbie

About the Book

This book is a gift of love. My love for you will never die My prayers for you are forever before God. Neither love nor prayers have a shelf life! Barbie is a true story, as true as memory is can be. “Barbie” was the babyhood nickname of author Barbara Geraldine (Gerry) Meggait, née Pouncy, and was not used past babyhood except by her father and brother, who called her “Barb.” As a little child, Gerry was nicknamed “Baby,” but she pronounced it as “Barbie.” In this memoir, Gerry portrays herself as “the old woman” and weaves her musings into the story of child “Barbie.” She looks at her own life through an objective lens, as if she were a kindly older person looking at Barbie growing up with her accompanying joys and sorrows. She grew up during some of Canada’s darkest hours, as drought reduced the normally fertile lands of Manitoba to dust during the Great Depression. Her family, like many others, struggled to survive these impossible conditions. It was the strength of family, faith, love, and patience that pulled them through. Barbie’s story is filled with love, compassion, and understanding of a childhood and an era long gone. Gerry values her large family—children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—and wrote this book as a legacy for them.

About the Author

B. Geraldine “Gerry” Meggait lives on a farm with her husband, Martin, in British Columbia, Canada. Her first book, Journey Through Alzheimer’s: Compassionate Caregiving (2004), was written to honor her mother. She is retired from a job she loved, working with adults with developmental disabilities.