A Singular Woman

The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother

By: Janny Scott

Narrated by: January LaVoy

A major publishing event: an unprecedented look into the life of the woman who most singularly shaped Barack Obama-his mother.

Barack Obama has written extensively about his father, but little is known about Stanley Ann Dunham, the fiercely independent woman who raised him, the person he credits for, as he says, "what is best in me." Here is the missing piece of the story.

Award-winning reporter Janny Scott interviewed nearly two hundred of Dunham's friends, colleagues, and relatives (including both her children), and combed through boxes of personal and professional papers, letters to friends, and photo albums, to uncover the full breadth of this woman's inspiring and untraditional life, and to show the remarkable extent to which she shaped the man Obama is today.

Dunham's story moves from Kansas and Washington state to Hawaii and Indonesia. It begins in a time when interracial marriage was still a felony in much of the United States, and culminates in the present, with her son as our president- something she never got to see. It is a poignant look at how character is passed from parent to child, and offers insight into how Obama's destiny was created early, by his mother's extraordinary faith in his gifts, and by her unconventional mothering. Finally, it is a heartbreaking story of a woman who died at age fifty-two, before her son would go on to his greatest accomplishments and reflections of what she taught him.

The title of the book may well have been, “An Exceptional Woman”

The woman in the story was an exceptional woman but you had to dig deep to find her. The beginning of the book read like an org chart or who begat whom. The rest of it was pretty academic until the last couple of chapters where the characters were fleshed out, including emotions, & became real. In the end, it would seem that Obama did not appreciate who his mother was until he no longer had her. Given the life she chose away from him, this is understandable. Still, she was a good woman and he is a good man .. no accident there.

singularity can be a virtue

i have only just purchased this audiobook and am looking forward to listening to it. remarkable women are always worth hearing about. thanks to audible dot com for getting this book to us.

A PhD in Anthropology?!

I had no idea how educated Barack Obama's mother was. A PhD in Anthropology no less. What an amazing woman. Unconventional, intellectual and dedicated to improving the plight of poor women, especially in Indonesia. I knew she was born in Kansas and died of cancer in her fifties. She was so much more and now I know. And she has an amazing daughter, Maya.

"Always on the outside looking in"

J. Scott's research pieces the details of S. Ann Dunham's life. Her life as a caring, loving mother to two inter-racial children; her hardships as a single mother with an inter-racial child growing up in the 60's in Hawaii & Indonesia; and her devoted research as an anthropologist working in Indonesia. No matter your politics, this is an interesting account of Ann's life that ultimately affected the world and basically changed history. The book has alot of detail about Indonesia and gets technical at times. As a daughter of an Italian mother who left her entire family to move to the US, I remained intrigued by Ann's need to always go back to Indonesia and somehow live a life as someone on the outside looking in.

Way too long!

I realize the author did a lot of research and wanted to share it all; however, at some point there should be discrimination over what the reader must wade through. This is the perfect example of far too many details and a real need of editing!