During a period of years I entertained the fear of impending insanity. I looked in all directions for comfort. A psychiatrist assured me that I was normal, but the fear persisted. As a result I found my life shipwrecked; there was separation from loved ones and great grief. It was then that I found myself on bended knee praying for a better way of life. A business associate gave my husband a Christmas gift of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy and wrote inside, "I know that Christian Science, honestly applied and practiced, meets every human need."
I read the first chapter, which is on Prayer, over and over again and each time with greater joy at the realization that I was never alone, that God was right with me always—omnipresent. It came to me clearly that my fears were the result of this dread of being alone, which had developed during the years of the Second World War as a result of anxiety and responsibility for others.
One morning, a short time after I began the serious study of Christian Science, the old fear suddenly permeated my whole being, and I found myself quietly asking, "God, will I ever find my freedom?" There was a knock on the back door, and a lovely woman asked if I would like to have my son photographed. I found myself inviting her to come inside. She spotted the Bible and Science and Health on the dining room table, smiled, and said, "You read good literature." She was a Christian Scientist.
