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

Elders, Joycelyn, and Chanoff, David

ISBN 10: 0688147224 / ISBN 13: 9780688147228

Published by William Morrow and Co, New York, 1996

About this Item

355, illus., index, some creasing to DJ edges. Inscribed by the author (Elders). Seller Inventory # 47419

Bibliographic Details

Title: Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's ...

Publisher: William Morrow and Co, New York

Publication Date: 1996

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: very good, very good

Edition: First Edition. First Printing.

About this title

Synopsis:

The outspoken former surgeon general shares her inspiring story, from her childhood in a one-room cabin to her tenure in the highest medical position in the United States and the controversies that have surrounded her. 100,000 first printing. Tour.

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.