Betty Ford

First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer

By: Lisa McCubbin Hill

Narrated by: Amanda Carlin

Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

An intimate and insightful biography of Betty Ford, the groundbreaking, candid, and resilient first lady and wife of President Gerald Ford, from the number-one New York Times best-selling coauthor of Five Presidents and Mrs. Kennedy and Me.

Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer is the inspiring story of an ordinary Midwestern girl thrust onto the world stage and into the White House under extraordinary circumstances. Setting a precedent as first lady, Betty Ford refused to be silenced by her critics as she publicly championed equal rights for women and spoke out about issues that had previously been taboo - breast cancer, depression, abortion, and sexuality.

Privately, there were signs something was wrong. After a painful intervention by her family, she admitted to an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Her courageous decision to speak out publicly sparked a national dialogue, and in 1982, she cofounded the Betty Ford Center, which revolutionized treatment for alcoholism and inspired the modern concept of recovery.

Lisa McCubbin also brings to light Gerald and Betty Ford’s sweeping love story: from Michigan to the White House, until their dying days, their relationship was that of a man and woman utterly devoted to one another other - a relationship built on trust, respect, and an unquantifiable chemistry.

Based on intimate, in-depth interviews with all four of her children, Susan Ford Bales, Michael Ford, Jack Ford, and Steven Ford, as well as family friends and colleagues, Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer is a deeply personal, empathic portrait of an outspoken first lady, who was first and foremost a devoted wife and mother. With poignant details and rare insight, McCubbin reveals a fiercely independent woman who had a lively sense of humor, unwavering faith, and an indomitable spirit - the true story behind one of the most admired and influential women of our time.

©2018 Lisa McCubbin (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Wonderful

Absolutely wonderful story and a wonderful woman! The narration was terrific and flowed smoothly.Definitely a Favorite!A+++

Outstanding!! A must read!

What a great and even inspirational book. I would recommend this to everyone. Especially, girls and women. I was a little kid when the Fords were in the White House and never knew too much about them. I had heard of the Betty Ford Center and knew Betty had an embarrassing interview with Barbara Walters but that’s all. Boy, is there sooo more to Betty Bloomer Ford than just that. Betty’s life’s journey would have been way too hard for me to live. She endured A LOT. The writing and flow of the book is excellent and the narration is also equally as excellent. I totally enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.

Felt like I was there!

I absolutely loved this audiobook. It is so well written, and with all the stories, I honestly felt I was there in history right alongside Betty Ford.  I knew very little about the former first lady and her contribution to society is immeasurable.

Inspiring

I went into this with little knowledge of Betty Ford's life other than knowing she was in recovery from drug addiction, but I finished this book in love with who she was - open, honest, artistic, service-oriented. This book delved only a little into politics and the unprecedented way in which she and Gerald Ford found themselves in the White House, and instead rightly focused on how Betry adapted to all the fluctuating life events that happened along the way. She was interviewed by 60 Minutes very early in Ford's presidency, and nonchalantly noted that she expected that her kids had tried marijuana - after all, most kids do. This moment in the book spoke volumes about who Betty was - an open book in many ways. She was not ashamed of being human, and encouraged others to be open too, speaking about things formerly taboo, like her breast cancer.

Unfortunately I listened to this on Audible - I almost gave up early on because the reading was robotic - the narrator only redeemed herself when going into character, when she became vibrant and expressive. Her performance took away from what is a fabulous story.

A Must Read!

Wonderfully thorough without being tedious. So, so well done. I feel like I knew Betty Ford personally! The narrator was the only low point. Sounded SO robotic. There were several times in the beginning I considered reading the book instead, but the content was so good, I soon forgot how terrible the reader sounded.

fantastic biography

From start to finish. Definitely in the top 3 of best biographies, and I read nothing but biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. The author really nailed it in tone and content. i highly recommend this wonderful book.

Great book!!

This was a very good read covered everything about Betty Ford that I remembered and her life with Gerald Ford. Alot I had forgotten thanks for bringing it back to me. There was no one like her.

First Lady in So Many Ways!

Betty Ford lived an unexpected public life with the skills of a modern dancer and very gracious supportive wife to her husband. He had strong admirable character from childhood through Eagle Scout in wartime an Congress and into the Presidency. Together they made it through a tough transition into the White House and helped thousands of people power through tough circumstances to lead new lives.
This was a well-written and masterfully narrated history book about our country's journey through complicated times.

If you don't know who Betty Ford was....You will!

I didn't know much about Betty Ford until listening to this book. I had no idea she'd done and gone through so much. Our lives are much better today because of her honesty and her bravery. Thank you for sharing these stories of a wonderful woman.

Great Story!

Great story! I caught myself pausing to view some of the interviews and speeches. Betty Ford was ahead of her time. My only negative was that the narrator’s voice was a little shaky, and I found myself distracted by it at first. After a while, I got over it.