She came to the Kentucky mountains when she was 43 years old, and she died in 1965 when I was 16 years old. My personal life pilgrimage found me in Mrs. Breckinridge's Wendover home at age 41 interviewing for the position of FNS Director. Her portrait by William Draper hangs over the fireplace there. It is one of those paintings where her eyes follow you no matter where you are in the room. If there are spots on earth more enveloped in mysticism than others, then Wendover is one of those places.
Some creatures have no choices.
Babies have no choice abut to whom they will be born, whether they will be born to parents who love them. I have a choice. Mary Breckinridge had a choice. She found her niche in developing a system of healthcare to improve the lives of babies, women, families. Life is full of choices.