A Long Road: The Life of Nancy Eastridge

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My association with Ms. Eastridge began with a call from her after she had seen a program on a local station where I appeared as a guest. I had recently published a book of poetry, and my poetry was featured on the show. Ms. Eastridge called the local university where I taught and asked if I could assist her with a collection of essays that she had written about her life. At the time she resided in an assisted living facility located fifteen miles from the university. It was with some reservation that I initially agreed to travel to the home to meet Ms. Eastridge. I immediately realized that I had made the right choice. This tiny 93-year-old white woman was less than five feet tall, had a desk and typewriter in her bedroom, and carried a cell phone to receive her calls. I left the residence carrying a large paper bag of separate essays to be edited, rearranged, and organized based on themes. The only emotion experienced was one of gratitude for being allowed to assist in the preparation of such a great work. Her work has the ability to excite, to inspire, and to allow the reader to reconnect with his/her own past because of the universality and relevance of the themes. I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Eastridge for about one year, although I continued to work on the project for a number of years. In January 2004, her health began to fail and she lapsed into a coma. Personnel from the assisted living facility contacted me (I had since moved to a position in another state) to inform me that she had been in a coma for eleven days and had not eaten during that time. They expressed amazement that she was still alive. One assistant thought that perhaps she lingered due to unfinished business regarding her book. Later that same day, her niece called and shared the same point of view. Her niece placed the phone up to Ms. Eastridge's ear so that I was able to share with her that the changes to the manuscript had been completed and that the manuscript abstract was being considered by a publisher. A promise was made to have her book published. This was very important to her since this was a major concern voiced during the last conversation that I had with her. Her niece called at 5:00 AM the next morning to state that her aunt had died during the night. Ms. Nancy Eastridge died at the age of 93 on February 4, 2004, knowing that her life story would be read by others. -Dr. Bonnie Hatchett