Dearest Mother, Dearest Friend

by Catherine Marshall

Based on personal journals and letters of beloved author Catherine Marshall, Dearest Mother, Dearest Friend is a collection of inspirational thoughts and about being a mother. A deeply devout Godly woman, Marshall's mother;Leonara Wood, was one of the most in influential people in Catherine's life--so influential in fact, that her real-life story was the basis for Marshall's most successful novel, Christy. Readers can catch a glimpse of their beautiful relationship in Dearest Mother, Dearest Friend . Perfect for Mother's Day.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Marshall was born in Johnson City, Tennessee. She was the daughter of the Reverend John Ambrose Wood and Leonora Whitaker Wood. From the age of nine until her graduation from high school, Marshall was raised in Keyser, West Virginia, where her father served as pastor of a Presbyterian church from 1924 to 1942.

While a junior at Agnes Scott College, she met Peter Marshall, marrying him in 1936. The couple moved to Washington, DC, where her husband served as pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and Chaplain of the United States Senate.

In 1940, Marshall contracted tuberculosis, for which at that time there was no antibiotic treatment. She spent nearly three years recovering from the illness. Her husband died in 1949 of a heart attack, leaving her to care for their 9-year-old son, Peter John Marshall. He later also became a minister and author.

Marshall wrote a biography of her husband, A Man Called Peter, published in 1951. It became a nationwide success and was adapted as a film of the same name, released in 1955. Her success encouraged her to keep writing.

Marshall wrote or edited more than 30 books, which have sold over 16 million copies.[citation needed] They include edited collections of Peter Marshall's sermons and prayers, and her own inspirational writings. Her most successful books were A Man Called Peter (1951); and her novel, Christy (1967), which was inspired by the story of her mother's time in the mountains teaching the impoverished children of Appalachia. Christy was adapted as a CBS television series, starring Kellie Martin, beginning in 1994.

In 1959, Marshall married Leonard LeSourd, who was the editor of Guideposts Magazine for 28 years. Together they founded a book imprint, Chosen Books. They had three children, Linda, Chester and Jeffery.

Marshall died on March 18, 1983 at the age of 68. She was buried alongside her first husband.

Reviews

[Mary Anne Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely little book full of wise quotes, beautiful pictures, and sweet memories. Even though Marshall's childhood was many decades before mine, our growing-up years had similarities, and bits of this book reminded me of my own childhood memoir. Reading about her wonderful, strong relationship with her mom was inspiring. My own mom died much too early in life, but I look forward to cultivating a relationship like Catherine depicted in this book with my own daughters.

[Deanna Anderson]

A nice quick look into the mother daughter relationship of a couple of women through the years.

[Alivia Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

sobbing at the end

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a sweet testament from author Catherine Marshall to her Mother. She chronicles her mother's arrival at a mission school all the way up to the present time prior to the author's death. The book has letters written to and from her mother through childhood, college, writing, children, and marriages.

The book surprisingly concludes with the untimely death of the author. The last mentions are from her own Mother who at the time of publishing in 2001 was then 92 years old and had outlived many of her own relatives including her author daughter. She laments briefly of her loss but as faith is strong for her, knows that she will see her again.

Disclosure: I picked up a copy of this book for my own collections. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours.