Who is Priscilla Wolcott?

My trek to the "Here and Now" began in 1945 in Gaffney, South Carolina.  Helping to shape my life were periods of time spent in various places: Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana; Danville, Illinois; Battle Creek, Michigan; Stamford, Connecticut; White Plains and Manhattan, New York; Waynesville, North Carolina, and Greenville County South Carolina. Each period of time added sweet, sour, bitter or savory seasonings to my life. However, the most remarkable event was the birth of my son, when I was 35.  According to medical standards at that time, I was too old to be having a child. This notion challenged my beliefs and prompted hard questions: What if my child is deformed or retarded? Should I consider abortion? But at Yale University undergoing amniocentesis, I saw life: arms and legs wiggled trying to avoid the long needle that penetrated the amniotic sac which had become my child's space. Labor was long and delivery complicated resulting in a C-section and one of the miracles in my life: a rare glimpse of Heaven. Here I was given the choice to remain or go back and raise my son.

There are many stories rumbling around in "my cellar," all waiting their turn to be told. These are loosely expressed through the voice of Priscilla Wolcott and her "wretched life" as she calls it. Priscilla finds her way through childhood, puberty, adulthood, marriage, divorce, remarriage, and widowhood.  And at the late age of 75, she marries again.  It is this final marriage where Priscilla comes to understand the meaning of God's Grace, which is more than undeserved favor, it is for her the divine influence on one's heart, soul, and mind that gets expressed as gratitude in the way that life is lived.