Born a slave in Georgia in 1818, Bridget "e;Biddy"e; Mason learned to survive in a harsh world. Taken from her parents as a young child, Biddy grew up to be self-reliant and hard working. When she and her children finally found freedom in California in 1855, she turned her nursing skills into a successful career as a midwife. Even after she became a wealthy landowner in Los Angeles, Biddy never forgot her basic philosophy of sharing with others: "e;The open hand is blessed,"e; she always said, "e;for it gives in abundance, even as it receives."e;

JERI CHASE FERRIS is the award-winning author of eleven Lerner biographies for children and young adults. She specializes in biographies of women and minorities-people who have done great and important deeds, but have been overlooked in history-for example: Go Free or Die: A Story about Harriet Tubman, Demanding Justice: A Story about Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Arctic Explorer: A Story about Matthew Henson, What Are You Figuring Now?: A Story about Benjamin Banneker, and With Open Hands: A Story about Biddy Mason. Jeri retired from a 30-year teaching career in order to write full time and travels all over the United States and the world to research and collect information on her subjects. In addition to writing, she is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, bringing history to life through the lives of these remarkable women and men. Her current novel is not a biography but is historical fiction, a survival story set in WWII Russia (USSR).