VALLEY — Former San Luis Valley resident Eve Bauer, now of Los Alamos, N.M., has recently released a book, “Journey to Forgiveness: Through for the Life and Death of a Farmer.”  Life on a farm spanning the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s offered many challenges for a girl child.  In the case of young Eve, coming of age in the San Luis Valley, there was an added challenge: her household consisted of her parents and five sisters, at a time when children were expected to be farmhands, rather than young humans learning to navigate life. 

Daughters were no exception, and Eve’s dad was harsh and demanding. Yet, along with his demands for labor, came his love for life and his desire to share his wisdom. As Eve grows into a woman, she vacillates between loving and hating her father. But when she faces his impending death, she realizes it’s time to make peace with the past.

Challenges she faced in life are addressed in her story. These include the need to forgive her father for his gruff ways of dealing with daughters on a farm. The tragic accident, which took her oldest sister’s leg, set the scene for how the family dealt with life, including the mental illness of the oldest sister.

Being a female offered many challenges of its own. Overcoming alcoholism, a rocky marriage and poverty are included in the victory of her life.

The farming practices of farmers in the 50’s and 60’s are painted in detail in her words.  Beautiful scenes of the San Luis Valley are peppered throughout the book, adding to the essence of the story.

Bauer grew up on a farm in the San Luis Valley. As a child and young woman, she worked alongside her dad doing chores, driving the tractor, irrigating, working in the fields and taking care of stock. She married in her early 20’s, not to a farmer but to a blue-collar worker. This took her away from the farm and into a small city. 

At the age of 36, with three young sons, she decided to attend college to improve her life.  Through many trials, including the loss of her dad, she earned a degree in chemistry at the age of 43. She then moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico with her youngest son (then 11) and worked in the national laboratory as a Research Chemistry Experimentalist. After 18 years, she retired and decided to write the book that had been on her mind for two decades.

The book is available via Kindle or paperback at: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Forgiveness-Through-Death-Farmer-ebook/dp/B071R9Q2TG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499878483&sr=8-1&keywords=journey+to+forgiveness

Or contact the author at [email protected]