The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

She couldn’t take care of me. She talked about fixing my foot, but she
couldn’t do it, not really. It was all just lies. And I wanted my foot fixed so
badly. I was tired of it hurting. I wanted to be like a normal person. I wanted
to walk without crutches, and I wanted to go to school, and I wanted to wear
shoes on both feet. I never wanted to be locked up again.
I hated crying, but I couldn’t help it. I sat on the sofa and sobbed. Susan
held me to her. “I know,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I know.” She stroked my
hair. “If it was emergency surgery,” she said, “if you broke your leg or if your
life was in danger, I could give permission for that. But this is a big operation,
and it is elective, you can survive without it. I can’t give permission. I’ve
asked the WVS and I’ve consulted a lawyer, and without your mam’s
permission we can’t have it done. I’m so sorry. We’ll keep looking for her.
We’ll find her.”
“I don’t want to just survive,” I said.
“I know,” Susan said. “So you’ll have to figure out how to make that
happen, without fixing your foot.
“It’s hard,” she said, “but that’s the truth.”
The winter turned fierce. Snow drifted over the fields and made it impossible
for Butter to climb our hill. Even the ride to Fred’s was so wretchedly cold I
dreaded it. I went every day now, for afternoon feed, because the winter work
was too much for Fred. He didn’t watch me ride. It was far too cold for that. I
put Butter in a stall and did chores with Fred as fast as possible, and then rode
home. Water froze in the troughs. The horses ate mountains of hay.
“It’s getting to be too much for you,” Susan said, when I came home with
my toes and fingers numb, shivering so hard I couldn’t stop. “If Fred can’t
manage, Lady Thorton will have to hire someone to help him, war or no war.”
“It’s not too much for me,” I said. “I promise.”
Susan insisted I would attend the village school next year. She borrowed
all sorts of books from the town library and made me read them. If I couldn’t
read a word, I was supposed to ask her what it meant. The more I read, the
less I had to ask. She started me on math and history too.
Our days went like this. Susan woke us in the dark and cold. We washed
up and dressed as quickly as we could. Downstairs, Jamie tended the fire in
the living room while Susan worked the range. I went out to give Butter hay.
After breakfast Jamie washed the dishes by himself while Susan and I took
the blackouts down. Then we had housework, reading, and sewing. Jamie
played with Bovril on the rug. Lunch, school for Jamie, shopping for Susan,