Rachel Elizabeth Harding's Remnants Summary

Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism, and Mothering is both an autobiography and biography. This book is a record of Rosemarie Freeney Harding’s life. The co-author is Rachel Elizabeth Harding, who is Rosemarie’s daughter. Rosemarie Freeney Harding was an organizer, teacher, social worker, and cofounder of Mennonite House, an early integrated community center in Atlanta. Rachel Elizabeth Harding, daughter of Rosemarie Freeney Harding, is Assistant Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Colorado.
Rachel found her mother’s journals and other writings as well as many hours of taped conversations. She has merged her own words and her mother’s into a unified story with a unique voice. This book is the journey of a generation fighting against discrimination and using spirit as their medicine for healing and transformation.
The book begins with stories of Rosemarie Freeney’s ancestors from southern Georgia. It is from these people that she learned her motivated nature and spiritual beliefs. However, the beginning of the book is very confusing to follow. She has many family members and it is complicated to remember who everyone is and keep up with the stories of them.
The middle of the

It contains chapters on Rosemarie’s trip to India to visit the Dalai Lama. There is a detailed depiction of her year of severe illness with draining diabetes. Her experience with this illness is told by both her and her daughter. They alternate their memories and thoughts at the times of Rosemarie’s pain and suffering to give two different perspectives. It was very interesting to read a story written this way. This part of the memoir exemplifies the power of spirit and how it is a medicine for pain, wisdom, and mystery. Spirit is what got her by, and she learned that mostly from her grandma and her grandma’s stories, which she introduced at the beginning of the