With the death of her father when she is 19, idealistic and poetical Selina finds herself working as a prairie school teacher. She falls in love with a farmer, marries, gives birth to a son, and is widowed in short succession. Selina finds farming desperately hard work, and she expends every effort possible towards ensuring that life will be better for her boy. What happens to both of them as he grows up is the subject of this book, So Big. I loved this book as a sample of what life was like in bygone years, and an encouraging story to always be true to your inner values. I've read this book several times.