My name is Sarah Fredericks. I am originally from Ireland but currently live in Maryland with my husband Carl. Growing up in Ireland, one of my keenest pleasures was to seek out a quiet corner and read a book. When I was a good child, and occasionally I was, my mother would hide books under my pillow as a surprise. My pillow became my gateway to Oscar Wilde’s Fairytales, “The Famous Five Mysteries,””Arabian Nights,” and “The Golden Treasury of Poetry” by Louis Untermeyer. When I was older, my mother would smile and say, “Sarah, read this,” placing a well worn volume into my hands: “Jane Eyre,” “Emma,” the poetry of Omar Khayyam, or “Pepys’ Diary.”
Since then, I have added many other books to these favorites, until, not too long ago, I said to my husband, “Honey, I think we need more shelves.”I have gotten so much joy from reading over the years that I decided to help others learn how to read. When Edie, my next door neighbor, told me about the local Literacy Council, I took the March 2014 tutor training workshop. Soon after that, I was introduced to Ira Richardson.Ira and I have now been working together for five months. He is a very determined and motivated gentleman with aspirations of going to college. We are currently working on the Laubach Series 4 book during class time, Challenger 1 writing exercises for homework, and other reading and writing assignments. In the space of five months, Ira has made wonderful progress in many areas, especially in his comprehension skills, spelling, pronunciation, and writing skills. I have no doubt that Ira will reach his goal of attending college in the not too distant future. It is a pleasure to work with him.
Lastly, this July, I created a Facebook book review page, “Sarah’s Great Reads,” to help spread the joy of reading. I write about literature, drama, poetry, and include arts and humanities audio and video clips. My page address is as follows: www.facebook.com/sarahsgreatreads.
