Don't get me wrong. It was a nice story and I still enjoyed it. It is interesting to know that it was based on real people and a real situation. Again, though, when we met to discuss the book one of the women had watched the documentary (which she said was excellent) and we discovered that the main character never actually learned to read and that the teacher did not exist in real life. This bit of news made me wonder why the author used the real characters and their real names when the main story line was totally fiction. Apparently the author wondered how the ability to read--literacy--would change the lives of people who live in the dump.
I do know that the ability to read and the love of reading have been a tremendous blessing in my life. Education has made all the difference for me, both secular and spiritual education. Going to college was probably the single most important turning point in my life. It put me on a path of economic stability, even security. My choice of college, Brigham Young University, created a situation where I was required to take religious studies courses. Several of these courses, combined with the church-based environment at the university, resulted in extensive exposure to and study of the scriptures, which has changed my life immeasurably. I remember my first Book of Mormon class in the fall of 1980. My eyes were opened to the beauties of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that I had not comprehended as a child and youth. I have also enjoyed the friendship and sisterhood of wonderful women in my book group. And, I have enjoyed endless hours of delicious entertainment in the pages of hundreds of books during my lifetime.