Dutiful Daughter

About the Book

The memoirs are based on the many letters the author sent home to her family in the Netherlands from 1953 to 1955, during which she attended Vassar College as a foreign student and then continued on to graduate school in the fall of 1955. These letters, saved by the author’s father and found among his papers after his death in 1987, describe both her ordinary and extraordinary experiences. Coming from post-war Europe during its painful recovery and the economic problems of that period, she had very limited means and possessions. The letters describe her worries about money and finding warm clothes to get through the harsh winters, but they are also full of joy about the many wonderful opportunities and experiences offered to her. Throughout, she feels a strong responsibility and duty to her parents to keep them informed and is often concerned about how much of a burden she is to them even this far away. Just out of high school when she comes to Vassar College, she is almost immediately faced with what her future is going to be from then on, and she has to make some tough decisions all along the way which ultimately result in her becoming an American citizen, leaving behind her family and her country.

About the Author

Josina van der Maas was born in the Netherlands in 1935 and moved to the United States in 1953 to study at Vassar College where she graduated with a major in Chemistry in 1955. She obtained a PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1959. After postdoctoral studies at the University of Illinois, she had a long career in scientific research and computer software at Bell Telephone Laboratories and the IBM Corporation, among others. After retirement, she joined a memoirs workshop at her local library which inspired her to write down memories of her childhood in the Netherlands, resulting in her book Pappa’s Papers. Dutiful Daughter is the sequel, based on her letters home during the two years she was at Vassar College. In addition to her writing, she has many local responsibilities on committees and boards. She lives in a small town in Westchester County, New York half of the year and in southern Florida the other half.