Life According To Henry

Life According to Henry is the published memoir through the eyes and mind of Henry Ratliff. As an octogenarian, Henry sat down to write the story of his life. The course of time was nearing end, kids were grown, grandkids growing up, and his beloved wife Beulah had already met Jesus. The complexities in this book are organized largely untouched and straight from the mind of a school teacher and school master. Great lengths have been made to keep the original content as such. Life in 20th Century is typically pressed through the lens of historians. Subjects like the Great Depression, The Great War, World War II, The Korean War, are notably the most widely published and read works of the 20th century; many which tell the narrative of hard times, hope, and life in America. Life According To Henry accounts for a family who lived through these times and more. The modern world was catching up on Henry. He just had to focus to get the family story out and into the hands of his folks before he himself met eternity. The project begins to unfold as one of Henry's grandson's, Jason Ratliff; requested the task of publishing the story. Initially he talked to Henry's son and daughters. Then to siblings and others. Everyone wanted a copy of the type-written document but life was happening to all. Busy with it himself, Jason left it to collect dust until one day on a chance trip to Europe for a Wedding, Jason read the entire story on an airplane. 1/2 of the story was read in route to Amsterdam, the balance on a flight back to the USA from Paris. Jason checked again with those in his world. The book was fascinating. From the family perspective it was a ray of light into family heritage. From a pupil's perspective, it was everything a kid learned in school. History class to social studies and beyond, the depiction of the life of a family who migrated the country to beat the devil out of his game of claiming life, destroying families; by and in pursuit of the American dream. Especially so, living a life worth living. The bonds of family are inherently present, choice of words so complex, yet simple sets of common speech combined to tell the story of a man from the south, to a small town in central Indiana. Imagine yourself what it would be like to stare through the portal of time to see life through the perspective of grace and compassion. To see life through the eyes of a man named Henry is to value people and their contributions to society.