September 2024 Newsletter - Conversations: David Cook interviews Barbara Bennett on how The Willows has given her a “second chance at life.”

Barbara Bennett has a quick answer when asked what she likes about living at The Willows. “It has given me a second chance at life,” she says.

The diminutive, effervescent Bennett moved into a one-bedroom villa at The Willows in December of 2021 after living for 20 years in Long Beach, California.

Bennett says she came to The Willows to examine her life and see, “how did my past get me here and how can I improve. I wanted to read more and more about Mary Baker Eddy and go back and read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and grow. That was everything. That was my new life,” she says.

In establishing a new life at The Willows, Bennett cites the advantages of living in a community with shared goals like spiritual growth, joyful activity, and caring for each other. “It made it easier because I felt it was a family I never had. I felt it was neighbor helping neighbor. It was nothing but love, love, love, which our church was built on.”

 Bennett says she strives for a balance between religious study and Willows activities. “Christian Science is first in my life,” she says. But she adds, “I love the trips. I love the lectures. I love to keep learning. They give us so much activity.”

 Newcomers are welcomed, Bennett says, noting that when she arrived on campus, “I didn’t know I could sing.” But she says the conductor of the residents’ chorus “was so kind. She says everyone can sing. Of course, you can come and sing.” She also praised the art classes she’s taken in our art studio, specifically a watercolor class taught by a fellow resident. There was joy in finally going forward with the art class. “For years, I’ve had to say next year,” to such pursuits, she says.

 Bennett’s joyous approach to life persisted through the decades despite challenges. “I was born in the Depression. My mother and my grandmother raised me because my father had gone to Florida ...to find work,” Bennett says. A mother of five – two girls and three boys – Bennett divorced. Before the divorce, her husband severely limited her contact with Christian Science activities.

 After the divorce, Bennett returned to active participation in Christian Science while supporting her children. “I raised my family as a single parent with God’s help,” she says. To support her children, Bennett worked as a nurse’s aide at a Christian Science care facility, in real estate, and in New York City’s Garment District. She now has four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

 Life in The Willows community provides opportunities to help and be helped. Bennett says that if she comes across an unhappy resident, “I try to help them be happy, but not by being pushy.” And she notes, “I have a lot to overcome myself, you know. And this is a place to do it.”

 Bidding the interviewer farewell at the door to her villa, Barbara Bennett smiles and says, “The best is yet to come.”