Another stress factor to consider is being pioneers in a new field. Breaking new ground means taking risks, going where not many have travelled before. There is little past experience to draw from and limited training opportunities to further one's education in literacy work. TERESA ZIOBROWSKY from Cold Lake said:

"Working in literacy will be considered a really good job someday - after we've paid the price as the guinea pigs!"

I looked at issues of unrealistic expectations, over dedication to the job, limited funding and resources and lack of recognition and wondered why I hadn't heard more serious, debilitating stories of burnout.

I have heard estimates that the literacy community in Alberta loses one third of its members each year - with tutors highest on the turnover list and full-time workers more apt to stay with their jobs longer. People speculate that the "average life span" of a literacy coordinator is 2½ years. And yet, in my years of working in the literacy field, I have heard of very few situations where a literacy worker resigned from her position because of burnout.

Out of curiosity, I took a closer look at the 30 people I interviewed for the first six chapters of Opening Doors. In the 18 months since their interviews, 13 people (43%) no longer held the positions they did at the time of our interview. However, further investigation revealed that 8 of the 13 had found new literacy work in higher paying, full-time or different literacy positions. Only five people (I7%) actually left literacy work altogether - two due to spouses being transferred, two because their family situations had changed and they were needed at home and one because she "needed a change". Only one person said she didn't plan to return to literacy work at some point in the future.

Why is it that literacy workers don't burn out in more alarming numbers? I believe it is because of the important personal strengths which are characteristic of the people working in this field.

Humour is a good example. On many occasions I saw people use their sense of humour to take the sting out of a difficult situation. Literacy workers enjoy laughing with the people around them and better still, are able to laugh at themselves. Their sense of fun and genuine enthusiasm is infectious and spills over into all the work they do.

Community literacy workers are also very "self-aware". They know themselves well. Admittedly, the self-awareness they possess has often been gained through hard lessons.

I know of many people (and admit that I was one) who dove into their new literacy jobs with their whole hearts and souls, perhaps from the overwhelming pleasure of finding something real and important to sink themselves into. Their dedication to their work ended up taking priority over their own personal needs, which lead to physical and emotional exhaustion.

But I have also watched those same people, like Carolyn, find the inner strength to "come back" and when they do, they are often stronger and wiser and in many cases, even more dedicated. They are aware that they give a great deal in their work but they are also aware that they thrive on the positive life force of giving. After the initial "diving in", they find ways to offset the emotional investments they make in their work and the danger of putting their work ahead of themselves.

When I was in Medicine Hat, LEANA KOCH talked about the "female water table":