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A Mother's Story
by Gloria Vanderbilt
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN 0-679-45052-1
Published May 1996 - Hardcover - 147 pages - $20.00

Having just read It Seemed Important At The Time by Gloria Vanderbilt, I wanted to read about the suicide death of her son Carter.  I find Ms. Vanderbilt and her life rather intriguing.  Many of us live through loss, but I suspect the loss of a child to be the most wretched of all.  Loss of self-esteem is not far behind in my book.  It's how we cope and move on that's the telling point.  Not easily.  For some it's quicker than for others, and for some, they sadly never get passed it.  And, for the record, affluence does not make it easier, despite what you might think.  Ms. Vanderbilt describes with emotion and feeling, her growing up without a father, a distant (literally) mother, her husband Wyatt Cooper's background, and the uprbinging of her own Cooper sons.  I'm sure many will recognize their own families from both bits and pieces in this book - distant and loveless, encouragement and love.  This is a tender account of a mother's love for her sons and of the young man her son Carter had become.  Her other son, Anderson Cooper, is a sterling journalist who is keeping us all in the know of the Hurricane Katrina devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding areas.
Conclusion - Pleasant and heartfelt.  And of course, tragic.