Carrie Dickerson was the proprietress of Aunt Carrie's Nursing Home in Claremore, Oklahoma, when she attended the first public hearing on the electric company's request for permission to build a nuclear power plant near her hometown.

Carrie always assumed that her government would take care of her and keep her out of danger. There were no words to describe her outrage when she discovered that while the government knew that a nuclear meltdown could render an area the size of Pennsylvania uninhabitable for decades, they intended to allow construction of such a nuclear facility.

It was then that "Aunt Carrie" began her fight in earnest. She sold her nursing home and mortgaged the family farm to pay legal fees, while devoting hundreds of hours to research on nuclear energy.

It took Carrie Dickerson nine years and every single penny she could scrounge to prevent the construction of the Black Fox nuclear power plant.

She has been asked if her enormous financial and emotional sacrifice was worth it. "Aunt Carrie" replied, "I'm only glad that I had it to spend. When I saw my little grandson playing outside on the green, uncontaminated grass, I knew in my heart that I was obligated to do all I could to keep him and future generations safe."

In the end, Black Fox was never built. "Aunt Carrie" indeed won her fight, but she won even more; she gained the friendship and admiration of her adversaries. She said, "I always kept in mind I was fighting nuclear power, not people."

Never was it anticipated that a quilt-stitching great-grandmother from Claremore, Oklahoma would find herself dubbed "heroine."

In May of 1995, Carrie Dickerson celebrated her 78th birthday. She is still active in the movement against nuclear energy and the promotion of safe, renewable energy.

Carrie Dickerson is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, in addition to her work as an anti-nuclear activist.

Her past careers include schoolteaching, ownership and operation of Aunt Carrie's Bakery, and later, Aunt Carrie's Nursing Home, where she was the Registered Nurse. Carrie now sells Shaklee products and teaches quilting classes to maintain her livelihood.

You may order autographed copies of the book by sending a check for $30, which includes Oklahoma state sales tax and shipping, to:

Carrie Barefoot Dickerson
P.O. Box 2584
Claremore, OK 94018