Life is Not a Stage

For millions around the world, Carol Brady is synonymous with motherhood but growing up the youngest of 10 in rural Indiana in the aftermath of the Great Depression, Florence lived a life quite different from that of the quintessential TV mom she played on tv. Her father was a dirt-poor tobacco tenant farmer who was nearly 50 when he married Florence's 25-year-old mother and was nearly 70 when she was born. Her childhood was one of abuse and abandonment. Her father was an alcoholic and their home home rarely had electricity or running water. When she was 12 her mother left the family to work and never returned. Florence opens up about her childhood, as well as the challenges she's faced as an adult, inc.stage fright, postpartum depression, extramarital affairs and divorce and her hearing loss and heart problems. She writes with honesty and wisdom of how her faith and ability to survive has brought her through rough times to a life of profound joy and purpose. She notes that this memoir 'is written as a natural consequence of forgiveness and compassion, not only for those who harmed me but most importantly, for myself.'