Mothers are unique; they offer unconditional care and love for their children, and never ask for anything in return. Every soul has a unique story about his or her mother. Former US president and prolific writer Jimmy Carter, in his 20th book titled A Remarkable Mother, offers readers the unique and amazing story of his mother, Lillian Carter (1898-1983). The book is based on diaries, letters and interviews of family and friends.
A Remarkable Mother chronicles Lillian`s life and her achievements spanning over eight decades. The author has ascribed to his mother the inspiration of his own life`s work and achievements. Using a simple but eloquent style, he narrates various facets and phases of her life from growing up in rural Georgia to pursuing a professional career as a nurse, from dealing with race issues in the South to serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in India, expanding her interests as a widow to helping her son become president, and from becoming America`s first Mama to exerting her influence on President Carter`s administration.
President Carter begins the book by introducing his mother `Bessie Lillian Gordy was born in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, the 15th day of August, 1898, and was one of the most extraordinary people I`ve known. She was the fourth of nine children, two of them adopted `double first cousins,` and was described in news reports as `third cousin of US Senators Jesse Helms and Sam Nunn, fourth cousin of Elvis Presley, and mother of President Jimmy Carter.` We children thought this diverse heritage partially explained her interest in politics and showmanship, but not some of her other idiosyncrasies.`
On the education of his mother and her nursing profession, Jimmy Carter wrote, `Mama received a much better education than most other girls her age because of her constant reading and her determination to pursue a medical career. She said, `I signed up to be a nurse when the army was asking for nurses. That was in 1917, when I was 19, and I was very patriotic... In those days nurses were not like they are now... Nurses made little money and were not highly respected. They were thought of as servants, often improperly abused or even seduced by doctors.`
Lillian married Earl Carter, who later became a successful farmer, businessman and community leader. The marriage yielded four children Jimmy, Gloria (the motorcyclist), Ruth (the evangelist) and Billy (farmer and a businessman). Rather than being a protective parent Lillian was a go-getter. She used to teach her children by example. After her husband died in 1953, Lillian transformed herself from a wife into a matriarch.
Describing her problems of settling into a new culture, Carter writes, `Mama had been in Vikhroli about six months, and she became so discouraged with language, vasectomies, not using her nursing skills, and the sight of the leprous woman, that she decided to resign from the Peace Corps and return to Plains. `India was killing me,` she wrote. `I couldn`t bear it any longer — the dirt, the squalour, the poverty, the apparent insensitivity to the suffering of others, the restraints on my activities... I just didn`t have the strength to bear the horrible cruelty and indifference.`
Describing how his mother managed their home, the author writes, `When Mama was not nursing, she was in charge of the house. She was up before to fix breakfast for us, usually after my father had already gone to the barn or fields to get all farming tasks under way. On school days he would get us all fed, dressed, and on the way with lunch in a paper sack or on-gallon lard bucket. Summertime was much more pleasant, I would often go early to the field with Daddy, and if it was near home, we might come in later in the morning for breakfast. Mama usually had some help with heavy cleaning, and she sent our dirty clothes off in a long square-bottomed white oak basket to be washed each week by a black family near Plains who provided this service for the community. Relieved of most household duties, my mother was free to pursue her chosen profession — both in these early years and for three more decades.`
Remembering his mother`s strong character and independent thinking, the author writes, `Mama was one of the strong, able, and independent Southern women who became a powerful societal force during the generation or two after the war between the states because of what had happened to the men and boys. Many were dead or incapacitated, or were rendered ignoble by their military defeat and the loss of their prestige, property, and political rights during the imposition of the carpetbagger governments. Every community knew these matriarchs, who were envied and sometimes despised because of their eccentricities, but always respected.`
Lillian Carter proved to be effective on the campaign trail during her son`s 1976 presidential election campaign. The author writes, `Since I ultimately defeated Gerald Ford by a very narrow margin. I think it`s accurate to say had my mama not been on the campaign trail, I probably would not have won... By the time the other candidates woke to what was happening; they had already lost the election.`
She delivered more than 600 public speeches both in the US and overseas during her lifetime, and befriended many celebrities and world leaders. She played the role of the Carter administration`s goodwill ambassador around the globe. She almost persuaded the administration to let boxing champion Muhammad Ali bargain with Iran for the American hostages.
Commenting on his mother outspokenness, her son writes, `Mama had developed a reputation for expressing unorthodox opinions and not being constrained by any outside advise... The officials in the State Department were always quite nervous about what she would do or say that might violate protocol and damage relations between our government and that of the country she was visiting.`
Discussing Lillian`s interests as a widow, he says, `One night, early in 1966, my mother saw a television advertisement for Peace Corps volunteers with the slogan `Age is no barrier.` She immediately sent a letter volunteering to serve... Her only request was to be sent `where it`s warm, people have dark skins, and need a nurse`s services. (She was posted in India.)`
Recalling Lillian`s initial days after reaching India, President Carter writes, `Mother was informed that her primary duty would be to implement Prime Minister Indira Gandhi`s family planning programme. As a registered nurse, Mother would be responsible for educating the families on birth control measures... her duty assignment would be near Bombay, in a community called Vikhrol. One of the brightest spots in Mama`s memories about the Peace Crops was Mr Vinod, the gardener. Often surreptitiously, he would bring her flowers and vegetables. She tried to pay him but he refused. Mr Vinod had a daughter named Madhavi, about seven years old, and in order to repay the gardener, Mama offered to teach her to read and write English. They would go to a quiet place on the nearby hill, and one day Mr Vinod asked permission to take their photograph together. It was later used on the cover for an edition of Mama`s letters.`
In October 2006, when President Carter visited Vikhroli for his Habitat for Humanity programme, he discovered that the little girl his mother had taught English to grew into a lady who earned a doctorate and became the vice-chancellor of a university.
Describing her problems of settling into a new culture, Carter writes, `Mama had been in Vikhroli about six months, and she became so discouraged with language, vasectomies, not using her nursing skills, and the sight of the leprous woman, that she decided to resign from the Peace Corps and return to Plains. `India was killing me,` she wrote. `I couldn`t bear it any longer — the dirt, the squalour, the poverty, the apparent insensitivity to the suffering of others, the restraints on my activities... I just didn`t have the strength to bear the horrible cruelty and indifference.`
In summer of 1983, Lillian was diagnosed with breast cancer and died a few months later at the age of 85. A Remarkable Mother is a wonderful tribute to a remarkable woman, as well as a fascinating read.
A Remarkable Mother
By Jimmy Carter
Simon & Schuster, New York
ISBN 1416562451
240pp. $22.95
The writer is a senior professor at DeVry University in Addison, Illinois.