I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was lovingly written by a son who adored, respected, and loved his mother very much. Lillian was such a force in the White House, and it sounds like everyone from every country who ever met her just loved being with her. She's was a woman that we could all learn from....she didn't take from anyone...even the President. The book was inspiring to me...she went into the Peace Corps at 70....enough said....very good book!

Very quick service. I got this book for my mom for Mother's Day and she loved it. I recommend it to anyone and use Amazon.

This was a quick read, but well done. Mr. Carter's mother was definitely her own woman, but Mr. Carter treated her always with respect and love. A great tribute.

Loved the book. It was an easy afternoon read. My husband and I took turns reading it to one another while sitting on the dock sipping cold beer. It is one of those days you hold in your heart. Laughed, cried and hated to see the end. Miss Lillian was some kind of woman!

Got this book for my mom. She loves it. She is a big Jimmy Carter fan, read and frequently quotes from his book "An Hour before Dawn."

I purchased this book for my 86-year-old mother for Mother's Day.
She said she enjoyed it very much and learned more about Mrs.
Carter than she knew.

Jimmy Carter is one of the few widely known political figures whose books sell well, because he writes clearly and entertainingly in his own voice. His latest effort, an unvarnished portrayal of his loyal, tough-minded mother, is no exception.

Readers may be a little shocked when he writes of how primitive the Carter family's life was, in 1930s Georgia, which he also described in his memoir, "An Hour Before Daylight." The southern climate, replete with insects, snakes, "wharf rats", and stultifying heat, made his mother Lillian's nursing skills valuable to the people she served. White and black people alike loved her for the care she gave them as she made no distinctions, holding an unusually enlightened attitude for that place and time.

Bright, energetic, practical, outspoken, physically and emotionally strong----as well as stubborn and demanding--that is the "Miz Lillian" her son presents to us in this plainly written, loving tribute to his mother.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Jimmy Carter has penned an insightful and inspiring book that chronicles the amazing life of Miss Lillian Carter- Peace Corp volunteer at the age of 70, registered nurse, pecan grower, university housemother, early civil rights advocate, and enthusiastic Brooklyn Dodgers fan. "A Remarkable Mother" is an engaging, uplifting read that makes for a terrific Mother's Day gift regardless of the recipient's political persuasion.

Anyone who doesn't remember the Carter Presidency will meet in this book a truly extraordinary woman, as salty and outspoken as she was generous, good-hearted and commonsensical--perhaps the only President's mother in recent times (at least prior to the current occupant of the Oval Office) to make a noteworthy impression in public consciousness. For those who do remember her, Jimmy's fond (but not overly or needlessly sentimental) portrait will help clarify the origins of the qualities that were manifest on the surface. Rather than being a clinging or protective parent she was a "do-er," someone who taught by example. In many respects, she bears no small resemblance to the strong Southern black women with whom she had an affinity--a character with the integrity and resilience of Dilsey in Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury."

The entire Carter family--Miss Lillian, Ruth, and Billy--were utterly unique individuals, and little has been written about the personal grief that Jimmy must have endured upon the passing of his mother and both siblings, even as he continued to direct his attention toward humanitarian causes that would benefit a wider human family. Unfortunately, there is no Brother's or Sister's Day, but some of us hope the enviable energies of the former President do not fail him before he has had a chance to do at least equal justice by these two remaining members of a First Family that, however dissimilar in background and social status, attracted a level of interest not seen since the Kennedy era.