Joy Cusack – staff
My first copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was a small pocket edition, bought with money I earned on my first job. The job and that small volume are linked in my memory because it was my study of Christian Science that led to my finding the job. I was 16 years old, and in the months before I began reading Science and Health, I was troubled by a dilemma. I had been appointed front-page editor of my high school’s weekly newspaper, and the position was a demanding one. There were stories to research and write, copy to edit, and page layouts to design each week—all on tight deadlines. I enjoyed the work and the camaraderie with the other newspaper staffers, but I was finding it difficult to keep up the hectic pace and still give adequate time to my schoolwork. I would be up late night after night, struggling to get everything done in time, and that led to arguments with my mother. I felt overwhelmed.
Eventually I yielded to parental pressure and resigned from the editing job with a heavy heart. It was the first time I had failed at something that was important to me, and the pain of defeat was hard to bear. All the fun went out of school for me. At the same time, I began having a health problem—my monthly menstrual periods began coming every two weeks. My mother was concerned and took me to a doctor, who examined me and prescribed thyroid medication. Deep down, though, I sensed that the physical problem was related to my unhappiness. Though I agreed to take the pills, I knew that they wouldn’t provide the real answer.
