Remembering Strawberry Fields

The joy that comes from success, the despair that arises from isolation and failure-these feelings will be familiar to anyone who has ever tried to pursue that elusive, time-honored thing, the American Dream. Mary E. Matury Gibson's first memoir, Remembering Strawberry Fields, beautifully captures the struggles of growing up as a first-generation American. Ranging from her father's fascinating life as a Sicilian movie star to Gibson's attempts to cope with feelings of isolation and loneliness in their rural Midwest town, Remembering Strawberry Fields presents an engagingly drawn portrait of one family, their daughter, and their attempt to chase the American Dream. Mary E. Matury Gibson's newly published memoir is called "Remembering Strawberry Fields" but no one who reads the book would describe her life as a bowl of cherries. The book has its share of historical charm. 

-Tim Hadac, The Regional News Palos Heights, IL

Mary E. Matury Gibson is a first-generation American born to Sicilian parents. She is the youngest of six children. Educated at Purdue University Calumet, she holds a degree in Industrial Environmental Psychology and Nursing/Nurse Practitioner degree. She has worked as a critical care staff nurse and Nurse Practitioner for more than fifty years. Mary has two adult daughters and five grandchildren. Mary resides in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and spends her retirement years writing about her life-long career in nursing and the historical changes in health care that have affected people in every walk of life.