Bass Weaves Family History, Fiction in 'Sarah's Daughter'
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That's the case with local author Ruth Bass, whose book, "Sarah's Daughter" (Gadd Books, 2007), set in a rural farming community of New England in the late 19th century, sprung from the seed of a memoir about her own grandmother.
Bass, an award-winning editor and columnist for The Berkshire Eagle, has taken her grandmother's story and woven it into the life of Rose, a girl of 15 who, when her mother dies suddenly, is thrust into the role of farmhand, cook and chief-bottle-washer for her younger siblings Charles and Abby, as well as her increasingly remote and alcoholic father, Silas.
Bass has come across many stories during a life filled with writing, editing, raising a family and community involvement. But the story telling began at home.
"In my whole childhood, people just sat around the dining-room table after dinner and told stories about stuff," she said. "I just heard all of those things from great-aunts and grandmothers and grandfathers. And my mother's family, too, because they were also a New England farm family, so there was a lot of story telling.”
That love of story telling worked its way into her life when, in the sixth grade, her teacher encouraged her to do a newspaper - one page, handwritten, printed on mimeograph paper.
"She was fascinated with special projects," Bass said. "If you got your stuff done, then she wanted you to have something to do that you wanted to do."
Apparently, this teacher had a good eye for her students' talents. Through Westfield High School and Bates College, Bass was to be found at the school newspaper.
"I liked knowing what people were doing and why they were doing them," she said. "Whether it's good or bad, it's still who they are and why they are doing it. It never lost its appeal."
She continued her education, earning a master of science degree in journalism from Columbia University, and joined The Eagle, moving from police reporter to features and Sunday editor. Bass continues to write a weekly column for the paper.
"Sarah's Daughter," written initially with young girls in mind, has found a broad audience amongst adults. "I've gone to 10 different book clubs, which are all adult women," Bass said. "It's really a crossover book."
The novel is rich in the details of daily life and language of the 1880s, showing that the issues of love, friendship and coping with grief or addictions are not new to the modern generation. Bass' sixth-grade teacher also might have been pleased that she has a counterpart in the life of the main character, Rose.
"It is very important to me, personally, that the women in this book are very strong," Bass said. "It's a strong case for women as good role models."
One of these women is Rose's teacher at the schoolhouse across the street. It is there where Rose finds rest; even as she struggles to stay awake during class.
Another important layer to the novel is the relationship between Rose and her two friends, Alice and Emily, who "... have a friendship that is not 'cotton candy,'" Bass explains. "They argue and they have their moments, but they are really friends. [It's a friendship where] they will be there for me and I will be there for them no matter what."
And that's a good story for readers of any century.
Bass will read and discuss "Sarah's Daughter" on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, at 3 at Chapters Bookstore at 78 North St., Pittsfield.
