In writing her story, Goodeye experiences a catharsis, relieving herself from so much stored emotions. She hoped by writing these events, which caused her such pain, to find its root cause origins and to show others how to cope with their situations by setting an example on how she dealt with hers.

As a child, she felt alone even though she was surrounded by family and friends. Goodeye’s grandparents arrived in Alberta, Canada over a 100 years ago. Her grandfather, Sam Annett, was from Northern Ireland and claimed the homestead in 1905 and served as a major influence in her life. Her parents, married in 1938, soon started a family of three daughters, which began the ominous rule of three. How the number three factored into her life was unusual and a very interesting pattern. For example, when she was three years old, her mother suffered from postpartum depression and became institutionalized at a mental hospital in the remote city of Ponoka.

With her mother gone from the household, her father received companionship from another woman, Hazel, which when known to her mother greatly affected her emotionally. If they had simply divorced, Goodeye wrote, she could have avoided the emotional trauma and subsequently the institutionalization. I felt this tragedy, albeit a common occurrence given the customs of the time, resulted in extreme hardships for Goodeye, which in hindsight we all could empathize with her sadness.

During her 63 years of living written in her book, she married three men who eventually each suffered from depression or alcoholism. Their deaths led her to discover the fact that suicide is more prevalent in the Native community. To deal with her losses and isolation, she began to write poems as a testament to her grief and participated in Native rituals. She discovered the value inherent in her personal experience and applied it to social work.

With a sense of closure, she compares herself to the sand in an oyster shell – she is a relentless disruptor. Goodeye is a politician, businesswoman and writer. She is a rancher and farmer, but her greatest accomplishment is her family.

“Seven to Seventy” is Goodeye’s first autobiographical account that blends history, culture and mysticism beautifully within the pages of this book. It has black-and-white photographs that markedly add to its authenticity. The pace is fast and the genealogy is thorough. I appreciated the idyllic images of nature and the animals depicted in the wild, as they seemed both literal and figurative.

“Seven to Seventy: My Journey through Time” is highly recommended for anyone who questions the purpose of his life and seeks to gain a greater understanding. It is a wonderful book full of life lessons of enduring hardships, relevant to every single one of us.