Like Dust, I Rise, a novel by Ginny Rorby is an uplifting story written in the first-person voice of young Winona “Nona” Williams. The story begins in Chicago, 1928, when Nona is eleven years old.
Nona’s father works at a slaughterhouse. He comes home to their rooms at a boarding house, reeking of blood and raw meat. His job is depressing and he wants more out of life than killing animals. He wants to work in fresh air. He leaves Chicago for Texas when he hears of an opportunity to have their own land, homesteading in the Great Plains. Nona’s mother is hesitant to leave the known, but unhappily follows her husband with Nona and her two siblings to a scrubby ranch near Dalhart, Texas.
Inspired by Amelia Earhart’s heroic flights, Nona clings to the dream of becoming a pilot. She saves every penny toward the hope of learning to fly. She’s an optimistic girl, hopeful that her dad will succeed in work that he likes, and that her mother will eventually be happy with their new living arrangement.
Once on the ranch, the family manages to build a small house so they can live in something other than a dugout. The first year’s crop of wheat is encouragingly good. But then their dreams turn to dust, literally. Between the Dustbowl and The Great Depression, the family barely manages to survive. Her father, ever hopeful that things will turn around, works feverishly to eek out a living for his family. Her mother, never pleased with their desolate prairie life, struggles with trying to keep house in an environment that is constantly gritty and where food is scarce. People are dying of dust pneumonia. It’s impossible to grow crops with the constant sand and dust storms.
In the meantime, Nona clings to her dream of flying. She squirrels away pennies so that some day she can afford flying lessons. She takes on many responsibilities at home, trying to encourage her mother to accept their situation.
Like Dust, I Rise is a well written account of the Dustbowl and Depression days. I appreciated Nona’s strength and determination. I ached for her father, seemingly beaten at every turn. I became impatient with her mother, but realize that her character was not unusual for a woman at that time finding herself in a position she didn’t want, in a place she hated. Like Dust, I Rise is a story of determination, endurance and survival.