Finding My Way

By Borghild Dahl

This is an inspiring story of the author’s adjustment to total blindness. It is the autobiography of a woman who faced and conquered a sightless world with strength, courage and a profound, yet beautifully simple faith in God. Life for her became a re-education; of relearning how to do the simplest everyday tasks, cooking, ironing, filling a cup and getting dressed.

‘All my life I have had bad eyesight. This time the battle to save my sight lasted eighteen weeks and in the end I lost out. In spite of the best efforts of skilled surgeons and careful nurses, I became blind.’ Thus Borghild Dahl begins the inspiring story of her adjustment to total blindness.

She was inspired to write this book after she spoke to a group of students about books and writing. In the question period that followed the boys and girls ignored the subject of the lecture, but were keenly interested to know how she managed to cope with the day-to-day problems of living now that she was blind. Finding My Way is her answer.

Young people admire courage, and they will find true inspiration in this autobiography of a woman who faced and conquered a sightless world with strength, courage and a profound, yet beautifully simple, faith in God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Papamoa Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781787209671

Borghild Dahl

BORGHILD DAHL (February 5, 1890 - February 20, 1984) was a Norwegian-American writer who overcame blindness and prejudice in midlife to become a high-school principal in Minnesota for more than 10 years, and then a professor at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from 1926-1939. She was born and grew up in Minneapolis, the daughter of Norwegian parent, where she attended high school. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, where she also undertook graduate work, and received her M.A. at Columbia University. She was the first woman granted a fellowship to Norway from the American-Scandinavian Foundation, and was the first foreign-born woman to be made a Norsk Akademiker at the University of Oslo. She was also decorated with the Medal of St. Olaf by the King of Norway. Dahl gained wide experience as an educator in Minnesota and South Dakota, both as teacher and high school principal, and for thirteen years was Professor of Literature and Journalism at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In addition to Finding My Way, Borghild Dahl was the author of I Wanted To See, Karen, Homecoming, Stowaway to America, A Minnetonka Summer, and Under This Roof. She passed away in Burnsville, Dakota, Minnesota in 1984 at the age of 94.

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Text originally published in 1962 under the same title.

© Muriwai Books 2017, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

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FINDING MY WAY

BY

BORGHILD DAHL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

FINDING MY WAY 4

DEDICATION 5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 6

FOREWORD 7

CHAPTER ONE 10

CHAPTER TWO 17

CHAPTER THREE 26

CHAPTER FOUR 30

CHAPTER FIVE 38

CHAPTER SIX 44

CHAPTER SEVEN 50

CHAPTER EIGHT 56

CHAPTER NINE 60

CHAPTER TEN 67

AFTERWORD 72

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 76

FINDING MY WAY

This is an inspiring story of the author’s adjustment to total blindness. It is the autobiography of a woman who faced and conquered a sightless world with strength, courage and a profound, yet beautifully simple faith in God. Life for her became a re-education; of relearning how to do the simplest everyday tasks, cooking, ironing, filling a cup and getting dressed.

All my life I have had bad eyesight. This time the battle to save my sight lasted eighteen weeks and in the end I lost out. In spite of the best efforts of skilled surgeons and careful nurses, I became blind. Thus Borghild Dahl begins the inspiring story of her adjustment to total blindness.

She was inspired to write this book after she spoke to a group of students about books and writing. In the question period that followed the boys and girls ignored the subject of the lecture, but were keenly interested to know how she managed to cope with the day-to-day problems of living now that she was blind. Finding My Way is her answer.

Young people admire courage, and they will find true inspiration in this autobiography of a woman who faced and conquered a sightless world with strength, courage and a profound, yet beautifully simple, faith in God.

DEDICATION

To Marchette Chute, Dr. Raymond Pfeiffer, Dr. Graham Clark, Elliott Macrae, and all other kind and gentle people who have helped me to find my way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BORGHILD DAHL, daughter of Norwegian parents, was born and grew up in Minneapolis. She attended public schools in Minneapolis and graduated from the University of Minnesota, where she also did graduate work. She received her M.A. at Columbia University, was the first woman granted a fellowship to Norway from the American-Scandinavian Foundation, was the first foreign-born woman to be made a Norsk Akademiker at the University of Oslo, and was also decorated with the Medal of St. Olaf by the King of Norway.

She has had wide experience as an educator in Minnesota and South Dakota, both as teacher and high school principal, and for thirteen years was Professor of Literature and Journalism at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

In addition to Finding My Way, Borghild Dahl is the author of I Wanted To See, Karen, Homecoming, Stowaway to America, A Minnetonka Summer, and Under This Roof.

FOREWORD

I WAS standing in front of a group of high-school seniors, ready to begin a speech to them.

Up to now, this had been an easy thing to do. I had been a teacher for twenty-five years, and had spoken before large groups of students without the slightest hesitation. There had never been any trouble in making immediate contact with them. I could tell from their smiles, from their upturned faces, from the way they leaned forward in their chairs, that they were interested in what I was telling them. It was easy because I could look at them.

But this time I could not see their faces or guess what they were thinking about me. I was blind.

I stood there for a moment, at a loss how to begin. I could hear the breathing of those closest to me, but otherwise there was nothing to guide me. I was suddenly confronted with the problem of making contact with an audience that I could not see.

I began to hear a rustling of paper. A suggestion of scraping feet followed. Someone cleared an impatient throat. If I went on standing there like a wooden Indian, I could not expect a roomful of young people to keep quiet for long. I tried to think of something that would break the spell.

The opening sentence I had planned had been such a beautiful one. That alone should have been all that was needed, sight or no sight, but I was so nervous that it was impossible to remember it. And yet I could not fail. This was my first attempt at a comeback since I had become blind, and the very thought of failure made me shiver.

And then I suddenly realized how foolish I was. These young people were probably just like the ones I had always known. Why should I be fearful of this audience, when students like them had given me so much joy through all my teaching career? They could be depended upon to meet me halfway. I had been building up a wall between us, when all that I really had to do was to be honest with them.

This is a new experience for me, I found myself saying. As you know, I am not able to see you, for I am blind. But that will not prevent us from having a good time together.

I paused, and there was a gentle stirring in the seats. I cannot explain why it was, but I could tell they were listening carefully.

I have worked with young people all my adult life, I continued, "first as a teacher and now as a writer of books. So I thought I would tell you about my latest book, A Minnetonka Summer, which has just been published."

As I spoke, I began to remember parts of the speech that I had prepared. I told them how I had written the book out of the happy experiences of my own girlhood in our summer home near Minneapolis. I told them about our summers spent at Lake Minnetonka, our trips to the woods, our swimming, our fishing, our games. I told them what Minnesota was like in those long-ago days, and how people lived then.

I had planned not to spend too much time describing my book, because I was sure the young people would have questions to ask. In fact, I had already made a mental list of the questions I was expecting.

Since I cannot see your hands, I said, will you just ask your questions from where you are sitting? If two of you speak at once, perhaps the one who seemed to come a few seconds behind the other will wait his turn. And if I don’t make myself perfectly clear in my answer, don’t hesitate to repeat the question or tell me what it is you would still like explained.

There was a short silence.

Let’s have the first question, I said.

How long is it since you lost your sight? The question came from a girl’s voice, directly in front of me.

For a moment I was taken aback, since I hadn’t expected so personal a question. But I recovered immediately. Hadn’t I promised to answer all questions to the best of my ability? And the girl must have wanted to know, or she wouldn’t have asked.

Almost two years, I told her.

Didn’t you feel terrible when you found you couldn’t see? There was real concern in her voice.

I said that I did at first. But people get used to things and then they become easier.

Do you live with your family? asked another voice.

I said that I lived alone, and then the questions came in a flood. How did I manage to find my way around the house? Did I have trouble getting dressed and undressed, and how did I know what clothes I was wearing? Was it hard to cook, and what kind of meals did I eat? Wasn’t I afraid of burning myself on the stove? Suppose I lost things, how did I find them?

One little girl was very concerned about how I felt. Wasn’t I lonesome, being alone and in the dark? How did I know when it was night? What did I do when I wasn’t working?

I told them I spent much of the time writing, and they wanted to know how I managed that. Did I write longhand and use a ruler to keep the lines straight? I told them I had learned to type over again, and they asked how I could do that without seeing the keys. Did I make many mistakes?

There was nothing prying about these questions. They were asked in an honest and respectful manner. My young listeners really wanted to know how someone who became blind managed to adjust to a new way of living. Nor was there the slightest note of pity. Here was someone who had solved a problem in which they were interested, and they wanted to know how it was done.

We were so engrossed in our questions and answers that I was surprised when it was announced that the allotted time for the conference was over. And I was even more surprised by the thunderous applause.

Thinking about it afterwards, I realized that not a single question had been asked about the subject on which I had been prepared to speak. Instead, all of it had been about my blindness—how it felt to lose my sight and how I managed to get along without it.

It occurred to me that, since these young people had been so interested, others might feel the same way. To make the change from a seeing to an unseeing world is almost like moving to a different planet where everything has to be done a new way. But, in