The Holding Ground is the memoir of Brenda Peddigrew, born in 1947 and soon to become 77 years old. It spans decades of change on every level, from Newfoundland before Confederation through many stages of adjustment, change, and the struggle for economic stability, through the eyes of a woman who was/is also a Sister of Mercy, early educators of girls in St. John's, NL. It also includes a section of short anecdotes which in different ways illustrates all that has gone before in the unfolding story.