Like Mary Baker Eddy, I too am a daughter of New England. I grew up in Massachusetts, and vacationed in New Hampshire and Maine. Even as a young girl, I loved the Bible. I would go off by myself and read from my beloved Bible, sometimes outside sitting on a large rock next to a small pond. I was always interested in things of the spirit and taught Sunday School at the age of 15 in the Baptist Church.
In high school I was intrigued by the poems and writings of the New England Transcendentalists, and in my junior year I wrote my term paper on Ralph Waldo Emerson. As it happens, I wrote my senior term paper on Mrs. Eddy and Christian Science. I remember being awed by her “scientific statement of being” in Science and Health. This was to me truly transcendental.
I never knew anyone who was a Christian Scientist until my senior year at college, where I met the man who is now my husband. Our relationship had blossomed, and we both felt that we might be headed for a deeper commitment. It was important to Chris that I understood his religion and knew where he was coming from. Instead of trying to discuss the basic ideas of Christian Science, he presented me with a lovely blue leather copy of Science and Health. I read it eagerly. The words found a deep connection with my spiritually hungry heart. I couldn’t stop reading it. Just as many others have stated, I could say it was everything I always knew to be true.
