The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife

Summary (from the publisher): Connie Scovill Small writes about her twenty-eight years of lighthouse living and service along the Maine and New Hampshire coasts with her husband, Elson.. "Now in her late nineties, Connie continues to be an inspiration to all who meet her. This new edition of The Lighthouse Keeper's Wife presents Connie's text with many additional photographs from the author's collection. The book also includes an interpretive essay by historian Andrea Hawkes, who examines Connie Small's life story as an important source for understanding New England history and the study of women, and places it within a tradition of American women's autobiography.


Review: Connie Scovill Small’s memoir dealt with the nearly three decades she spent working on different lighthouses in Maine with her husband. I’ve visited several of the lighthouses mentioned, and I always tried to imagine what an isolated, hard life the keepers and their families lived before the automation of lighthouses occurred. Connie is very forthcoming and honest about her life – her initial hesitation to take on the isolated lifestyle and the many mini housekeeping disasters she encountered. 

I was particularly moved by her close relationship with her husband. They clearly dearly loved one another and depended greatly on one another due to their choice of occupation and because they never had children. I also was moved by the great work ethic both Connie and her husband possessed. Even after retiring and her husband’s death, Connie went on to work at a college and stayed very active writing this memoir and traveling giving talks and lectures on lighthouse keeping. Connie’s life was both simple but rigorous – she makes light of her hardships including ferocious storms that threatened her life (if the Coast Guard can’t reach your island for several days, you know it must be bad), intense isolation on her island homes, and the loss of family, friends, and pets – but the reader can sense her deep emotion beyond her words. This book made me sort of sad to know that lighthouses no longer have keepers and good, honest people like Connie Small. 

Stars: 4