No More Than I Can Bear is a work in which Ms. Jackson shares her past experiences. She has had both difficult and joyous times in life and has struggled to find meaning in life. As she looks back on how far she has come, however, she seems to find satisfaction. Her childhood was both happy and sad. She had an aunt who would abuse her sister for being light-skinned and a stepmother who was not too kind to her. Often she would run away for various reasons - hunger, anger, and abuse. It became her way of dealing with situations she did not like. But she loved participating in school and church activities and throughout the work, she expresses gladness that she accepted Jesus as her Savior at a young age. Her tendencies to walk away from situations drove her to her mother's birthplace, where she met the man who fathered her baby. After that she moved to Chicago. She tells about her jealous husband, a military man who would make unreasonable demands about their life together - everything from withholding her paycheck to only allowing her to use the bathroom for short periods of time. She left him and got a house of her own, though they soon got back together. She tells of the different jobs she had through the years - working as a barmaid, at a Spiegel catalog company, and at Montgomery Ward. These jobs were not enough to support their family, though, and she eventually went to nursing school. A generous woman paid her babysitter so she would not have to leave school - everyone said she deserved to be a nurse and would make a good one. Later she shares stories of some patients she encountered and of raising her children during this time.No More Than I Can Bear is transcribed from taped interviews, and the author's voice is well preserved. This work may interest readers who know the author or are interested in autobiographies that are full of colorful details.
