A Remarkable Mother

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Lillian Carter was a remarkable woman indeed. Not only was this long-lived (1898-1983) Georgia native the mother of the 39th president of the United States; Bessie Lillian Gordy Carter was also a registered nurse, a pecan grower, a university housemother, a Peace Corps volunteer in India, a public speaker, an author, and a down-to-earth television raconteur. As exceptional as "Miz Lillian" was, however, Jimmy Carter's heartfelt tribute to her will strike a chord with any daughter or son whose mother continues to amaze.

Carolyn See

…although this little book may have been timed for Mother's Day, it's far from the sentimental tribute one might expect…In her personal journey from farm wife to public figure, Lillian Carter (who died in 1983) was part of a larger sea change in American life: from a mostly rural society to an expansive, prosperous, confident player on the world stage. This is an unexpectedly engrossing family chronicle.
—The Washington Post

Publishers Weekly

Former president Carter (author of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid as well as many inspirational books) now offers readers the story of his extraordinary mother, Lillian Carter (1898-1983). After laying out some family history, he comes to Lillian's teen years, when she trained as a nurse at the onset of World War I. Health conditions in rural Georgia, especially later, during the Depression, were so dire that nurses were often diagnosticians as well as caregivers. Nursing also brought Lillian close to the black community, building personal bonds that paved the way for later political alliances. After her husband died, Lillian moved from wife and mother to full-fledged "matriarch," and later volunteered for the Peace Corps and worked in India. Being able to help such needy people was intensely satisfying, although she never got preachy about it. She'd write home, for example, that the Indian doctor she worked with was so "damned good you can't imagine him going to the bathroom." Modern readers who assume that church-going Southern Baptists don't swear, drink or work to promote birth control will find Lillian an eye-opener. She played an unofficial though vital role as the Carter administration's goodwill ambassador around the world-she almost persuaded our government to let Muhammad Ali bargain with Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini for our hostages taken in 1979. Carter offers wonderful stories about a great woman. B&w photos throughout. (Apr.)

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Library Journal

Former U.S. President, Nobel prize winner, and New York Times best-selling author (Our Endangered Values) Carter has written-and here reads-a lovely, humorous, and moving homage to his mother, "Miss Lillian," crediting her for instilling in him his lifelong sense of duty, commitment, and faith as well as acknowledging her generous, forward-thinking, and collaborative-minded sensibility. Carter's reading is heartfelt and earnest, and his affection for everyone in his family, particularly his mother, is palpable, making it difficult to imagine encountering the contents of the story in any other format. [Includes a bonus CD from the original audio series "Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter"; the S. & S. hc was "recommended for all libraries," LJ4/1/08.-Ed.]
—Pam Kingsbury

Kirkus Reviews

Former president Carter (Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope, 2007, etc.) affectionately remembers his mother, the redoubtable Miss Lillian. When he was governor of Georgia, Carter visited her at the family home in Plains. "Mama," he confided, "I've decided to run for president." "President of what?" she wanted to know. On reflection, she admitted, "Well I was pleased. I figured that if he was elected president, someone would open a good restaurant in Plains." Blunt without malice and disarmingly unfettered, Lillian Carter was a powerful force, remembered here by her son with not only fondness, but great respect for her role as an agent for good. She shared whatever fortune she had without making a big deal of it; knew a bum when she saw one (Joseph McCarthy, for instance, and not the tramps who knocked on her farmhouse door during the Depression); and "just ignored the pervasive restraints of racial segregation." When her husband died in 1953, the author noted that she "seemed to be searching for whatever was provocative, adventurous, challenging, and gratifying." Thus she spent eight years as a housemother to a rowdy Auburn University frat, lent her nursing talents to the Peace Corps for two years in a small village in India and became her son's goodwill ambassador. While she tirelessly campaigned for her son and served as the face of his administration on countless occasions, mostly state funerals, she also took care of herself, tuning out the world when her chosen soap opera aired and enjoying a strong toddy in the late afternoon. The author isn't shy to note that Miss Lillian could be high maintenance-"She was quite harsh in her criticism when any ofus failed to make a regular pilgrimage to pay our respects"-but Carter makes it clear that she passed on her unvarnished decency and sense of fair play to her son. A low-key, well-balanced tribute. Agent: Lynn Nesbit/Janklow & Nesbit