HOOD RIVER, Ore. — Hood River resident Sigrid Scully has done many things in her life.
"Twenty-eight jobs in my life, never fired," Scully said. "I did everything from waitressing to landscape design."
At the age of 96, she can now add another achievement to the list. In January 2024, Scully published her first book. It's a children's book titled "If I Could." Scully didn't use a computer; she wrote it by hand in cursive, the old school way.
This all started a few years ago when Scully joined writing classes. That's where she wrote "If I Could."
"I read it to a group of about 10 people and they all clapped and they all said, 'You should get it published."" Scully said.
One of those people was Judy Shupack.
"I said, 'Sigrid, that's a children's book,'" Shupack said.
The former teacher happens to be an artist but said she had never illustrated a book before. She took a page out of Sigrid's book, that it's never too late to try something new.
"I've always wanted to illustrate children's books. And this sort of got me started," Shupack said.
She illustrated the book and found a publisher for Sigrid, Cave Moon Press, which is based in Yakima. The nonprofit literary press does things a little differently than your traditional publisher. Every project has to donate the profits to a charitable cause of their choosing.
"I have picked a safe space here in Oregon," Scully said. "What they do is they are advocates for abused children."
Sigrid has learned something new and created a lasting legacy to help the younger generation at the age of 96. So, don't judge a book by its cover because age is just a number.
"If I Could" is available exclusively on Cave Moon Press' website.