Sunshine Preferred: The Philosophy of an Ordinary Woman

by Anne Ellis

Long before laughter was prescribed for illness, Anne Ellis wrote with unexpected humor of her extended bout with the "villain" asthma. Sunshine Preferred sums up the attitude of a remarkable woman whose illness interrupted a busy life as politician and breadwinner for two children. In the 1920s she is shuffled from home in Colorado to sanitariums in sunny Arizona and New Mexico. Throughout the long ordeal, she showed her zest for life in writing vivid sketches of her doctors, nurses, and fellow patients. Anne Ellis advises the "Don't read this book unless you are a person who never has been ill, or who is now ill, or who is just recovering from illness, or who hopes never to be ill."

249 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1984

Reviews

[Karie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason that Anne Ellis who never completed higher than maybe a 4th grade education received an honorary degree from the Universtity of Colorado. This is the second book after Life of an Ordinary Woman and provides a great accurate glimpse of the life in the mining towns and the life of a woman and her deep feelings.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Anne and her life while she was "chasing the cure" in the 1920s. With limited resources she left family and traveled to the Southwest in search of a cure for her 'asthma'. Her writing style reminded me of my grandma's style.