Summary Of Maggie's American Dream

Words: 626
Pages: 3

Comer James P, M. D. Maggie’s American Dream. The New American Library, New York, 1988.

This book is about the life and times of a black family. A compelling family history

that shows the power of education to change people’s lives by one of America’s most

eminent black educators. This inspiring family success story centers on an exceptional

women, Maggie Comer, whose American dream brought her from abject poverty in the

rural South to become the mother of four outstanding achievers. Told first through

Maggie’s own words, then through those of her son James a child psychiatrist and

brilliant educator, it’s an unforgettable chronicle of courage and resourcefulness, of

pride and achievement, of daring to dream despite the
…show more content…
Maggie fought hard to get herself out. After a

childhood of hunger and abuse, at sixteen she made her escape. Maggie’s odyssey led

her north to the steel towns of Indiana, where she met the Alabama preacher’s son who

would become her husband, Hugh Comer, as near perfect man as there can be. From

him, she learned that patience, a little guile and a lot of hard work, she could make her

dream a reality. Together, the two built a stable and sustaining family and raised four

children, whom Maggie had to put through college alone after her beloved Hugh died.

Uneducated, unskilled, working as a domestic and an elevator operator, she proudly

watched those four children earn a total of thirteen college degrees.

This book was moving and dramatic for me because it shows how people find the

the grit to succeed, despite the odds stacked against them, Maggie Comer’s testimony

reveals that the American dream, a dream of education, freedom and opportunity for all

people is very much alive. Despite living in a rag-tag household following the death