Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America
by M. Joycelyn Elders
On This Page
Description
"The oldest of eight children, Joycelyn Elders was born Minnie Lee Jones in the tiny town of Schaal, Arkansas, in 1933. She grew up in a three-room cabin and, at age fifteen, graduated from high school as valedictorian. When she entered Philander Smith College in Little Rock, she had never seen a doctor, let alone dreamed of becoming one. Dr. Elders graduated from the University of Arkansas Medical School and then became its first black resident, its first black chief resident, and finally show more its first black professor. By the time of the Senate debate on her confirmation as surgeon general in August 1993, Dr. Elders had been a respected pediatric endocrinologist and medical scientist for a quarter of a century, as well as the director of Arkansas's health department under then-governor Clinton. But during Dr. Elders's tenure as surgeon general she came under fire for her controversial positions on such subjects as abortion, sex education, the distribution of condoms, and the legalization of drugs. Her passion and outspokenness enraged Republicans and often upset the Clinton administration. Now, Dr. Elders openly describes the top-level machinations that led the Clinton health insurance reform to self-destruct and eventually resulted in her own dismissal. She writes with equal candor about such intimate personal tragedies as her youngest son's drug addiction and arrest, and about the poisoned political climate in Arkansas, which has affected the lives of so many of the President's friends and appointees."--Jacket. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
Joycelyn Elders received extensive media coverage throughout her tenure as Surgeon General of the United States as a result of her outspoken views. On the heels of intense controversy over a statement she made about sex education, Dr. Elders resigned. But the media frenzy didnt tell the whole story. In this inspiring autobiography, Dr. Elders tells of her life growing up the oldest of eight children born to a sharecropper and his wife in a one-room cabin. Overcoming an impoverished childhood, she went on to college, became a doctor, and rose to the highest medical position in the U.S. Here Dr. Elders frankly addresses some of the issues the media ignored such as the behind-the-scenes machinations of the First Lady and the political show more circumstances behind the arrest of her son. As she shares her travails and her triumphs in poignant detail, she proves herself to be a truly inspirational African-America woman. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
2+ Works 66 Members
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Jocelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America
- Alternate titles
- Jocelyn Elders M.D.
- Original publication date
- 1997-10-01
- People/Characters
- Bill Clinton; Hillary Clinton
- Important places
- Washington, D.C., USA
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, History, Sexuality and Gender Studies, Teen, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 610.92 — Applied science & technology Medicine & health Medicine and health History, geographic treatment, biography Biography
- LCC
- R154 .E48 .A3 — Medicine Medicine (General) History of medicine. Medical expeditions
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 64
- Popularity
- 477,310
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
