Author weaves quite a story.

One resident who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit'!

For the past two decades, 74-year-old Mary Elizabeth Johnson has lived at Good Samaritan Village, a skilled nursing facility in Hastings, Neb. Her days are full, where she'll typically participate in community YMCA programs as well as church functions. She is an avid reader, a prolific letter writer, and a capable weaver. Among her most impressive accomplishments is God's Tapestry, her autobiography, which she wrote with the help of a stylus-type tool and a typewriter.

Mary has cerebral palsy. She hasn't let it slow her down, though. In fact, nothing seems to be able to quash her desire to achieve. "She never loses her drive," says Brenda Scribner, a certified social worker at Good Samaritan Village. Throughout her book, Mary writes of the deep faith that defines and drives her life. Her faith is one reason Mary maintains such a "joyful heart," according to Scribner. "I can't do anything without God's help," Mary emphasizes.

Mary's parents migrate from Sweden in the 1920s, are married on Ellis Island, and settle in Chicago. She is born in 1926 following a difficult pregnancy and is afflicted with cerebral palsy at a time when not much is known about the disease. Her parents know there is something wrong by her first birthday and are advised she will never be anything but a vegetable.

In 1930 her family structure starts to fall apart when her father abandons the family. By age 5, Mary can speak, but only her mother and brother, Henry, can understand her.

"The doctors and others thought she was imagining that I had intelligence and just didn't want to face reality," Mary writes of her mother in her book. "I am glad she didn't believe them. I remember her telling me she wanted me to learn how to read because when I was grown this would give me a pleasant way to pass my days." But being confined to a life of quiet desperation is not Mary's way. At an early age she takes steps that no one expects her to ever take and begins walking with the help of a doll buggy weighted with bricks.

In 1936, on the way to mail Christmas cards after church, a train hits their car and her mother is killed. She spends the next 43 years at Bethphage Mission in Axtell, Neb. Mary is not retarded, though people sometimes mistake that because of her speech and movement. During these years, because of legislation that calls for "appropriate placement," Mary is separated from a lifelong friend who also has cerebral palsy and who is sent back to Illinois. "My mind was a prisoner in my body and I wasn't allowed to do nearly everything I wanted to do because I was handicapped [ldots] I would show my frustration by getting angry and throwing temper tantrums," she writes of this time in her life.

Mary eventually contracts small pox and several other serious illnesses that leave her muscles dormant. Five times she re-teaches herself to walk. She has a passion for independence and, what soon becomes evident, a quest for schooling. "One of the things I was told was that we were 'God's special children' and didn't need schooling. What was special about being handicapped? It didn't make sense to me then and it doesn't today," she writes.

Mary eventually learns to weave. The hobby becomes an outlet for frustrations. It also strengthens her leg muscles and improves her coordination. Eventually, working on her education, Mary earns her GED in her late 40s and handles her own money.

She tells of all this in her book, in which she underscores how her deep faith always keeps her going. With the help of Hastings College student Tern Graham, Mary weaves the fabric of her life into God's Tapestry, for which she eventually had a book-signing. "I was able to have the book signing because the son of the woman who helped me revise and update my book works at Prairie Books & Gifts," she explains.

Among the poignant stories of which she writes is the time she visited relatives in Wisconsin at age 18: "We went to a Victory picnic, but Auntie didn't want their friends outside of the church to know that they had a queer in the family, so I sat in the car all afternoon."

Mary didn't remain on the sidelines, however. Today she participates in activities, Bible study, and attending church. "Once a month I also attend the meetings for the Prairie Weavers and the Spinner's Guild," she says.

While Mary has no plans to write another book at this time, "I do have a notebook of devotions that I have written," she says. Of her aspirations, Mary says simply, "I just want to keep my mobility as long as I can."

A continual source of inspiration, Mary offers this in the way of a message for everyone: "Try to be patient when things don't go your way. We are all human. Never give up. Keep trying."