Before she passed away in 2007, Dr. Carolyn Goodman collaborated with Brad Herzog to recount a life of courage and conviction, love and loss, tragedy and triumph. A half century after the "Mississippi Burning" murders, this is the first time that a victim’s family member has expounded about the experience and the emotions—from guilt to resolve. More than simply a memoir, My Mantelpiece is the story of a century’s seminal progressive movements seen through the lens of a remarkable woman’s singular journey. Half the proceeds from the sale of My Mantelpiece go directly to THE ANDREW GOODMAN FOUNDATION.
"Evocative...Still felt fresh to me, telling the story through the eyes of the mother of one of the victims." - New York Times 216 pages
5.5x8.25 hardcover memoir ISBN 978-0984991945 author: Carolyn Goodman with Brad Herzog Foreword: Maya Angelou |
ABOUT CAROLYN GOODMAN:
Carolyn Goodman’s life was punctuated by tragedy—a brother’s premature death, childhood molestation, teenaged abortion, a mother’s callousness, a father’s suicide, a son’s infamous murder, and the loss of two husbands. But hers is foremost a tale of survival, of turning personal anguish into social conscience. When her twenty-year-old son, Andy, was one of three civil rights volunteers to disappear in Mississippi in the summer of 1964, the story galvanized the nation. The names Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner still spark raw emotion in those who recall the era’s turmoil. Carolyn Goodman turned her son’s martyrdom into a mission. Among many other projects, she formed The Andrew Goodman Foundation, organized an anniversary Freedom Summer, and produced documentary films celebrating young activists. In 1999, she was arrested at a protest in New York City. She was eighty-three.
PRAISE:
“Dr. Goodman was not just a history maker. She was a visionary pioneer who made the future. She made the future by standing up for those whom no one saw kneeling, by speaking for those whom no one heard crying, and by fighting for those whom no one knew were hurting.” – Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
“Carolyn Goodman got in the way. She got in trouble. It was good trouble. It was necessary trouble. And she inspired many of us to continue to get in trouble.” – John Lewis, U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon “Whether we were talking about fascism and her previous experience with the antifascist movement during the Spanish Civil War, whether we were talking about the fear and pain of the blacklists and the struggle of living through McCarthyism, whether it was the earliest days of the civil rights movement, or the engagement many of us had with issues in Vietnam, Carolyn Goodman was always in the center of the debate.” – Harry Belafonte, singer and social activist “She taught the nation an unforgettable lesson—a lesson in personal strength and dignity in the face of unbearable suffering. She gave this nation a very powerful message—that the way to really atone for an unspeakable crime against her son was to make the Constitution and the Bill of Rights mean what they said for all Americans.” – Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City |
David Goodman of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, and President Bill Clinton.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
"Evocative...Still felt fresh to me, telling the story through the eyes of the mother of one of the victims." - Marc Lacey, New York Times A "must-read..." - New York Post My Mantelpiece captures “the essence of Bobby’s love for Andy, just as Carolyn’s moving anecdotes do. With such well-crafted poetry and prose, Andy’s personality becomes vivid and full of life… Readers interested in learning more about who Andrew Goodman really was and how his family worked for social justice will enjoy this book.” – ForeWord Reviews "From the perspectives of daughter, wife, mother, activist, and psychologist, Goodman details the tribulations and triumphs of her life. Poems and letters included in the memoir illustrate the love and devotion of the Goodmans and the joy of their relationships." - Booklist |
Excerpted in PARADE magazine
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