The book “No Change My Heart Shall Fear” (93 pages) is a collection of personal recollections and family anecdotes by Margit, published by her daughter Frieda Nowland in 1975, soon after Margit passed away.
- How the book happened
- Getting the book published
- The book’s contents (Read the whole book here!)
- Read her sister Gunhild’s story too
- The book’s artwork
- Promotions and reviews
Shortly before she died in 1975, Margit Mindrum wrote up her life’s story. Well, at least she jotted down snippets from her life. She called her collection of memories “No Change My Heart Shall Fear”. [Editor’s note: That title can be a mouthful, so on this website you may see it referred to as NCMHSF.]
Is it a memoir, an autobiography, or reminiscences? Whatever you call it, this copyrighted publication (yes, it has its own ISBN and the Library of Congress has a copy) — this book may be a surprise coming from someone whose formal education only went through the 8th grade.
Some years back now, while talking with a colleague on a related topic I casually mentioned “my mother’s autobiography”. He was taken aback, “Your mom was famous? What’d she do?” I have to chuckle now. My mom was such a modest person that she would have been flustered to have had someone consider her famous. Sure, the hundreds of paintings she had created did bring her some local notoriety. But I’d like to think she would have written “No Change” even without that, especially since it’s about her life, not her artwork.
Anyway, in my mind, her book had become such a part of my mom’s legacy that I hadn’t been thinking it was so unusual to have written a book. It’s gotten to the point now that I wonder why more people haven’t documented their one unique life by writing up their own snippets.
Editor’s Note: The writeup above was compiled from the notes of Frieda Nowland.
Margit Mindrum 