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Title: A Remarkable Mother
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Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $9.98
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| A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster an embarrassment | | Carter was arguably the worst president in the past century. Since then, he has been an embarrassment. He believes he has interesting things to talk about, but in reality we would all be better off if he would just build houses and leave the rest alone. | | A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster Not only was she a remarkable mother, Miss Lillian was a remarkable person | Bessie Lillian Gordy was born in rural Georgia on August 15, 1898, the fourth in a family of nine children. Her father was a government revenue officer and later a postmaster. She grew up in a busy, noisy household and never forgot her beginnings.
Lillian entered nursing school in 1920 at Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia. She met her future husband Earl on a double date but didn't like him very much at first. Perhaps opposites really do attract because Lillian and Earl married right after she completed her studies.
The Carters raised four children: Jimmy, Gloria, Ruth and Billy. Jimmy was the outdoors type, Gloria was the independent one who challenged their strict father, Ruth was a sickly child, and Billy was an avid reader and a bit of a scamp. Their mom and dad had different parenting styles; Lillian was less strict than Earl, the family disciplinarian, but she did leave lists of chores for the kids to do when she was absent.
Lillian worked first in a hospital and then later in people's homes. When she was on 20-hour duty, neighbors looked after her children. She gave capable, compassionate care to all regardless of race or ability to pay. In fact, she was usually paid in crops at harvest time. She owned all the pecan trees on their farm, and every November she took time off from her nursing duties to supervise the pecan harvest. She was a shrewd businesswoman who always received top dollar for her pecans.
During the Depression many folks who were passing through the area looking for work and better times visited the Carters, who always greeted them with a meal and a kind word. Lillian wondered why she had so many of these unexpected visitors while the neighbors had none. One guest explained that someone had marked the Carters' mailbox as being a welcome place to stop.
Earl died of pancreatic cancer in 1953, and Jimmy, much against his wife's wishes, left a promising naval career to return home to run the family business in partnership with his mother. With her family grown and being widowed, Lillian needed to keep busy and feel useful again. Her role as housemother for Kappa Alpha fraternity at Auburn University fulfilled that need for eight years. She often drove her "boys" around in her Cadillac.
Ruth became an author and evangelist. Gloria was an accountant, and she and her husband were avid motorcyclists. Billy was an astute businessman and had a reputation for being a free spirit, especially when he drank. Sadly, all three died of cancer. Time and again Lillian soldiered on after each of her devastating losses.
Lillian had a keen mind coupled with vitality and skills that still begged to be utilized. At age 68 she stepped out boldly when she joined the Peace Corps. She spent two years nursing in India, immersed in a very different culture from what she was used to. For someone who believed in equality for all, she found the caste system objectionable. Though she suffered many hardships and worked very long hours during that time, she loved the Indian people and felt her efforts had been well spent.
Lillian is undoubtedly best remembered as a refreshingly frank, down-to-earth senior citizen who just happened to be the mother of the President of the United States. She loved to appear on talk shows and often upstaged Johnny Carson. During and after her son's presidency, she became somewhat of a goodwill ambassador who traveled the world and was a highly sought-after speaker. Often she talked about service in the Peace Corps or disregarding age to lead a full and adventurous life. She spoke off the cuff and ignored notes and suggestions made by others. No one was ever certain just what she might say. Not only was she a remarkable mother, Miss Lillian was a remarkable person.
--- Reviewed by Carole Turner
| | A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster fascinating read! | Similar to "An Hour before Daylight," this book shares stories of life in rural south Georgia during the 20's, 30's and 40's. The book shares a great glimpse into the lives of the former president's ancestors. Anyone who remembers life with telephone party lines, chamber pots, and polio scares will reminisce and those who are younger should read this to learn what life was like for his/her grandparents.
The reader also gets a picture of an extraordinarily confident woman and what she can accomplish even in what was then a no-where town in the grand scheme of American geography. "A Remarkable Mother" is a quick and easy but rewarding read. | | A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster HE DOES IT AGAIN! | He Does It Again!, May 13, 2008
By P. Brogley "brogs68" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
The former President has done it again - written an informative and inspiring book. He gives us great understanding of the mother who helped make him the best he could be.
She was successful in that he is the best and most influential former President we have. This book is a gem. Read it this weekend.
Author of Mr. NewHeart (New Heart): Heart Attack to Transplant and Beyond
You may preview my next book if you Google "david hollar the face of war," the story of my year in Vietnam as an infantry officer including six months as a platoon leader with the Big Red One.
| | A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster "Sensitive and Caring!" | | I highly encourage all to read this book. If nothing else, to gain more insight into some remarakble people, and to gain more love, compassion, and sensitivity towards this very special person in many of our lives, our mother.One Man's Love Story - A Near-Death Experience | | A Remarkable Mother by Simon & Schuster Product Description | | A Remarkable Mother is President Carter's loving, admiring, wry homage to Miss Lillian Carter, who championed the underdog always, even when her son was president. A registered nurse, pecan grower, university housemother, Peace Corps volunteer, public speaker, and renowned raconteur, Miss Lillian ignored the mores and prejudices of the racially segregated South of the Great Depression years. She was an avid supporter of the Brooklyn Dodgers (because she happened to attend the first major league baseball game in which Jackie Robinson, from Cairo, Georgia, played), was a favored guest on television talk shows (usually able to "steal the microphone" from hosts such as Johnny Carson and Walter Cronkite), and an important role model for the nation. Jimmy Carter's mother emerges from this portrait as redoubtable, generous, and forward-looking. He ascribes to her the inspiration for his own life's work of commitment and faith. |
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