{"id":626,"date":"2020-04-02T18:59:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T01:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alan-rose.com\/bookchat\/?p=626"},"modified":"2020-04-06T14:50:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T21:50:52","slug":"a-chat-with-pat-nelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alan-rose.com\/bookchat\/a-chat-with-pat-nelson\/","title":{"rendered":"April 2020–A Chat with Pat Nelson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a time of global pandemic, Woodland author Pat Nelson recently published Open Window: The Lake Julia TB Sanatorium, a Community Created by Tuberculosis<\/em><\/strong>, providing a look back to a time and community that was defined by a disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pat Nelson<\/strong> is a freelance proofreader and editor as well as a former columnist for The Daily News <\/em>and The Valley Bugler. <\/em>She is co-creator of two humorous anthologies, Not Your Mother\u2019s Book on Being a Parent <\/em>and Not Your Mother’s Book on Working for a Living. <\/em>Her short stories have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul <\/em>and the Not Your Mother\u2019s Book <\/em>anthology series. She lives in Woodland with her husband, Bob. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In the early years of TB sanatoriums, mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, the young and the old, rich and poor, went away to recover at hospitals where even  in winter they slept by open windows, sometimes waking to snow and ice on their thick covering of blankets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While tuberculosis still casts its sinister shadow, infecting one-fourth of the world\u2019s population, Open Window<\/em><\/strong> looks back to the Lake Julia Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Northern Minnesota where the author\u2019s parents once lived and worked, a place where an entire community was created and bound together by the tubercle bacillus. At the heart of the community is the determined Dr. Mary Ghostley who some called a witch for studying medicine in the early 1900s. Along with Dr. Ghostley are dedicated staff, risking their own health for their patients, and the patients themselves who \u201cworked hard at doing nothing,\u201d hoping their treatment would allow them someday to return home rather than leaving in a box. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Alan recently spoke with Pat about her book and about publishing during a new pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is quite a change in tone and topic\nfrom your earlier humorous works. Where did the idea for this book come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lived on the dairy farm of the Lake Julia Tuberculosis\nSanatorium in Minnesota when I was very young, from ages two to four. In spite\nof my young age, the \u201cSan\u201d had a huge influence on my life because it was so\nimportant to my parents, who worked there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I left Minnesota for Washington when I was five. When I returned nearly 30 years later, I was overwhelmed by the sense of community that remained. Everywhere I turned, I was \u201cwelcomed home.\u201d When I detect a story, it\u2019s like hearing something faint, then listening as it becomes louder and louder, and so persistent that I can\u2019t dismiss it. When a friend asked me why I wrote Open Window<\/em><\/strong>, my reply was, \u201cI didn\u2019t have a choice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You call this a \u201ccollective biography,\u201d\nof Dr. Mary Ghostley, of your parents, and one of the long-term residents, Art <\/strong>Holmstrom<\/strong>.\nBut it\u2019s also a kind of biography of the\ncommunity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the sanatorium was located two miles from the\nsmall town of Puposky, Minnesota, and was sort of the hub of the community.\nPeople who worked at the \u201cSan\u201d lived on the grounds or nearby, in Puposky, so I\nsay the sanatorium was a community created by the tubercle bacillus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folks didn\u2019t have much money for entertainment in\nthose days, but they worked together, socialized together, and worshipped\ntogether at the church they built themselves. They got together for picnics,\ndances at neighbors\u2019 houses, or church socials, and they helped each other when\nthere was a need. The employees got to know and love the patients as they\nwatched them get well, or linger in bed, or die of the disease. And everyone, patients,\nemployees, and neighbors alike, loved Dr. Mary Ghostley, the superintendent of\nthe San.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr, Mary Ghostley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How long did it take to write the book?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me at least 15 years to publish the book\nonce I made the commitment to myself and to Dr. Ghostley\u2019s son, Jim. He said,\n\u201cEveryone says they\u2019re going to write a book about Dr. Mary, but no one ever\ndoes it.\u201d I vowed to be the one who would get it done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What was your process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing the research was so much fun, watching the\nstory form and tying the bits of information together.  Jim suggested that I go to International\nFalls to visit Art Holmstrom, who, while looking forward to graduating from\nhigh school as valedictorian, instead had gone to the San for many years. As I\nlistened to Art\u2019s fascinating story, the hook was set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband, Bob, encouraged me to make trips to\nMinnesota for my research. Eventually, I had recordings, notes, newspaper\narticles, letters, and even copies of most of the patient records from the\nSanatorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I had a rough draft, I sent it to Art Holmstrom\nand Jim Ghostley. They were pleased with it. In time, Art passed away, and then\nJim. I felt sad that I hadn\u2019t finished the book, but I was determined that, one\nday, I would. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I persisted through frustration, a dead computer,\nlost passwords, a new computer, new software, software upgrades, and late\nnights, and I did the formatting myself! I published both the print version and\nthe eBook on schedule. I am still putting my marketing plan together and\nbuilding my website. I\u2019ve learned that I can move forward even if everything\nisn\u2019t yet perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this time of COVID-19, what lessons can we take from Open Window? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably one of the most important lessons is that\nsometimes we have to adjust our daily routines for the good of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, I told my husband, \u201cOnce I finally\npublish this book, there will probably be a big epidemic, thinking TB, which still\ninfects one person in four in the world. I couldn\u2019t have guessed that the\ncurrent global pandemic would be called COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have many similarities: there was no cure; it primarily attacks the lungs; people isolate themselves to avoid spreading the disease. It attacks all ages, both male and female, rich and poor. Like tuberculosis, COVID-19 is spread by droplets of saliva through coughing, sneezing, talking, spitting, and singing, and it spreads more easily where large groups gather. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continue learning from tuberculosis, and we are now\nlearning daily from COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Are you working on a new project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No new project. But who knows? There might be a\nstory just waiting for me. When it\u2019s there, I\u2019ll hear it calling, softly at\nfirst and then with a persistence that won\u2019t let me ignore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Open <\/em><\/strong>Window<\/strong><\/em> is available at Amazon.com in both print ($19.50) and as an eBook ($9.50). The print version is 8″ x 10″ and 283 pages and features more than 135 historical photos. For more information, see www.OpenWindowTB.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n