Stacy Pratt McDermott Libri

One of America's most compelling First Ladies, Mary Lincoln possessed a unique vantage point on the events of her time, even as her experiences of the constraints of gender roles and the upheaval of the Civil War reflected those of many other women. The story of her life presents a microcosm through which we can understand the complex and dramatic events of the nineteenth century in the United States, including vital issues of gender, war, and the divisions between North and South. The daughter of a southern, slave-holding family, Mary Lincoln had close ties to people on both sides of the war. Her life shows how the North and South were interconnected, even as the country was riven by sectional strife.In this concise narrative, Stacy Pratt McDermott presents an evenhanded account of this complex, intelligent woman and her times. Supported by primary documents and a robust companion website, this biography introduces students to the world of nineteenth-century America, and the firsthand experiences of Americans during the Civil War.

We have many life-determining moments in our lives; moments when something happens, and we make decisions that determine the nature of our future life. Many of these moments are happy ones. We look forward to them, and we enjoy them. But many of our life-determining moments are not happy and we struggle with these unwanted intrusions into our lives - death is probably the most unwanted intrusion in our lives. We all struggle with these life-determining moments. The date when these moments occur will always remain significant to us. Our lives divide into before and after. In The Compassion of Memory P A McDermott explores the grief surrounding the untimely passing of a beloved family member and how grief continues for decades after the intial loss.