Legacy of a Pack Rat

by Ruth Bell Graham

Collects the experiences, memories, meditations, and thoughts of the wife of evangelist Billy Graham

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Biography, Spirituality, Humor, Poetry

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Ruth Graham was born in China; her parents were American medical missionaries at the Presbyterian Hospital 300 miles north of Shanghai. Ruth was a Christian from an early age. She graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, where she met her future husband Billy Graham. They were married on August 13, 1943 in Montreat, NC when she was 23. Her husband became a full time evangelist preaching the gospel all over the world. She loved to move behind the scenes, away from the spotlight, and helped him craft and research sermons and even books. She wrote as an emotional release, while her husband was so often on the road. Ruth convinced Billy to move the family to Montreat, near her parents, when their first child was on the way. Her ministry flourished in the mountains of western North Carolina, where she built the family homestead and raised five children. Ruth and Billy were married over 65 years and had 19 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. Ruth Graham died at the age of 87.

Reviews

[Ruth]

This is one of my all time favorite books. It is filled with a lifetime of wisdom from a a life well lived! I go back to it often for treasures & am never disappointed.

[V.K. Sansone]

This is one little book by Ruth Graham that will keep you laughing and crying and just plain out enjoying yourself as you read about all of the
happenings that she relates to the reader! A must read!

[Pat]

Ruth Graham Bell is an inspiration. Love her books.

[Leslie Benvenuti]

Solid 3.5 chock full of lovely stories, poems and memories.

[Kristin Emily]

I've stopped reading this...it isn't quite what I had expected it to be. It is short 1-2 page stories about various things. Not a bad book, I just have other things that I'd rather read right now. :)

[Danice]

I enjoyed how the book was put together of personal memories and poetry.

[Amy]

Very fun random writings. Poems, encouraging and exciting stories

[F.C.]

I was blessed and entertained by this special book...look for my full review in the upcoming issue of the Courant under Lit Pick

[Janice]

It was a nice read of little stories and things she collected over the years. I enjoyed her personal stories much more than the other things in the book.

[Pam Gowen]

Whimsical. Just not my kind of book.

[Terry]

A few bright spots among a field ob drudgery.

[Kaitlyn Novotny]

First, this work is not what I initially thought it would be and for that reason this review should be read with several grains of salt. It reads more as a devotional (and probably should have been), or at the very least a personal collection of vignettes to be passed down through the family rather than a published work. At times she is completely out of touch ("111. Affluenza"), but other times redeemed ("127. Why Are You Praying?"). It doesn't truly matter what is written because fans of Mr. and Mrs. Graham will adore anything with the Grahams' name on it. The book itself is a bit of a contradiction: "59. Travel Light" tells us to trim off excess weight (in terms of social engagements, an overabundance of paraphernalia), yet the entire work is a love letter to the stacks of material in the author's attic. Incidentally, the poems mixed throughout could have been "trimmed" (perhaps re-established in a separate work?) and the whole might've been better for it. It's almost as if the attic's contents were shuffled about and random pages were filed into a manila envelope, the resulting order of which became this book. Final rating of 3-stars because it takes a lot to put so much of oneself into a published work, even if the parts do not come together cohesively.

[Margaret Fraleigh]

I had read this book in 2011, but decided to read it again.

Ruth Bell Grahm is the wife of Billy Graham. Over the years she had collected many antidotes - stories, poems, thoughts and ideas. These were key in crowded attics, garages and basements.
She considered herself a pack rat.

Going through and reading all she collected, she put them in this book to share with the world.

[Holly Feenstra]

From the title and the summary on the back cover, I actually thought this was a book about home organization! How wrong I was. This is a book written by Billy Graham's wife and is a compilation of random poems, funny things that happened to her, short stories with a moral lesson, quotes by people that probably meant something to her, but to me it came across as disjointed and chaotic-feeling.

[Robbinette]

I didn’t know the author was the wife of preacher Billy Graham. But I loved her way of writing and my favorite part of this book was the last few pages. They really lit a fire in my soul about my goals and what I want to accomplish in my life, loved it 🥰

[Dianne]

The enviable/ un-enviable life of wife of Billy Graham, believe it or not her own person before marrying. A missionary to China, helpmeet of one of the most wide-reaching preachers of our time, and mother to Franklin Graham, Samaritan's Purse founder-was her own person throughout.

[Teresa Thompson Arcangel]

I grew up wanting to be a missionary. I read this book in 1990, and loved it! I don't remember a lot of details, but I was fascinated by Ruth Bell's life in China.

[Aimee]

Amazing book.

[Mary Addison]

I loved the poems and stories!

[Paula Shannon]

Changed my heart

[Wolfie Smoke]

This is like a Chick-fil-A chicken nugget meal, except its nuggets of wisdom instead of chicken.

[Emily Stegman]

A cute little collection of odds and ends from Ruth Graham

[Christine Risi]

Wonderful and inspirational stories in this great book.

[Lisa Pence]

This is my kind of book. Short 1-2 page memories and thoughts throughout her life. Very encouraging and remindful of what is important. A real example of how a life well lived is more interesting than fiction. Especially love the stories that were told to her by others.