Joycelyn Elders, M.D. : From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America - Softcover

Elders, Joycelyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380786486 ISBN 13: 9780380786480

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 1997

Synopsis

In a dazzling American success story, and against all odds, Dr. Joycelyn Elders rose from an impoverished childhood as the great granddaughter of slaves to the highest medical position in the nation. Here is her inspiring life story, told with the candor and conviction that has fueled her controversial views on such subjects as abortion, sex education and drug legalization, and has made her a champion for the poor, people of color and women.

About this title

Review:

Dr. Elders, with David Chanoff, has written a folksy and humble account of her life's journey from sharecropper's daughter in rural Arkansas to Surgeon General of the United States. Interestingly, given the controversial circumstances of her forced resignation when she was demonized by the Republican right for open discussion of sexuality, Dr. Elders reveals an upbringing suffused with the sort of family values that she was accused of destroying. "There wasn't any alcoholism," she writes, "nor was there any talk of men beating their wives, or of separation or divorce either." Her own sex education was typically scant, and indeed one has the impression of a woman who remained somewhat naive on such matters even as she gained an education beyond the comprehension of her parents.

About the Author:

David Chanoff has collaborated on nine other autobiographies, and is Visiting Scholar in the Humanities at Brandeis University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0380786486
• ISBN 13: 9780380786480
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368