Honoring My Mother

About the time he was in junior high, Dr. Benjamin Carson, now director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore, Maryland, and author of several books, realized that his mother couldn’t read. For years, Ben and his brother had read books and scratched out reports for their mother, assuming their mom was checking every word. But she didn’t have a clue what they were writing.

Ben’s illiterate mom didn’t twist her hands over her lack of learning and give up hope of raising intelligent boys, however. Instead, she gave her boys what she had — interest, accountability, and the courage to demand extra work. And it paid off.

Years later, someone asked Ben why his mother still lived with him, even after he was married and had a family of his own. “You don’t understand,” Ben answered. “If it weren’t for that woman, I wouldn’t be living here. She earned this.”

 — Kevin Leman, What a Difference a Daddy Makes (Nelson, 2000)