A fascinating account of the author’s experience as young girl in 1952 when her family moved to Peru for a year. The memoir begins with the author’s experience of living in Duluth, Minnesota painting a clear and sometimes humorous picture of Duluth life in the 1950s. Ms. Wood then continues her witty and descriptive writing style as she describes her family’s experience in Peru.

Author's Note:

"My dad spent over ten years of his life researching, revising and writing the history of his entire family going back to pre-revolutionary England. He did it before computers, so it was laborious and took forever. At the time I thought it was an enormous waste; I nagged him to stop and watch Bonanza with me on TV. Now, many years later, his history is fascinating to read and I’m very glad he wrote it. I’m going to write about just one year in our family’s life, 1952. I don’t think there’s much doubt about it being a waste of time and I can’t imagine many people wanting to read it now, forget the future. But I’m in the Frozen North, it’s zero degrees out, and I don’t like bowling."

~Marilyn Wood:

Marilyn passed away in 2014 after battling a rare neurological disorder. Marilyn taught at Normandale Community College for thirty-two years and at Mesabi Community College as a first-year instructor. Trained in drawing and painting, Marilyn’s passion the past fifteen years has been in digital photography, recording what she terms: Abandoned America. These photos have become her canvas, a way to preserve America’s unique and forgotten past. Marilyn was in the process of writing her memoir when she was struck with the debilitating illness. In her final days, thanks to friends and former students, Marilyn was able to complete To Peru in ’52.