My great grandmother. I don’t remember much about her, but two things stand out in my memory she couldn’t sleep with anything on her feet, something I partially inherited from her – I can’t sleep with socks on!

And she voluntarily went to get shock treatments –  she went to “go get her head right” (this may be mother or grandmother’s word’s and not Mema’s). I always have loved that about her and told it with pride. But until recently had not stopped to consider why I loved it so.

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She did this in the 1980s when mental health treatment did not exist and there was no acceptance of mental health conditions in our society. 

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To me she was a pioneer of Mental Health Awareness - self-aware that she had issues and sought what treatment she could find that could help her the best. 

It was brave and bold. 

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I know from my other relatives she could be a difficult woman. She lived in difficult times. And faced wars, the depression, no rights as a woman, and so much more. 

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It is her pie crust recipe you can learn here.