These are people who have had serious, seemingly insurmountable bumps in the road of life, but persevered to ultimately achieve success.
I also include people who have lived very long, successful lives. Some Elegant Survivors have had near-death experiences and experienced great hardships, while others have managed extraordinary, very long existences.
Mrs. John McCain, Elegant Survivor
CARE
Arizona native (May 20th, 1954) Cindy McCain is the wife of Senator John McCain. An advocate for children's health care needs, she founded the American Voluntary Medical Team in 1988, and led many medical missions to developing and war-torn countries during the Team's seven-year existence. Mrs. McCain visited Rwanda in 1994, during the bloodiest period of the Tutsi and Hutu conflict, the genocide which President Clinton virtually ignored. In 2000, Cindy was instrumental in her husband's notable run for President of the United States. That year, she was chosen to represent the State of Arizona at the Republican National Convention as the Chairwoman of the Arizona Delegation. She serves on the Board of Operation Smile and the Halo Trust, as well as several local organizations. Mrs. McCain has a Master's degree in Special Education from the University of Southern California. A survivor of severe physical ailments and spinal surgery, she is also recovered from a resultant addiction to pain medication. Mrs. McCain is candid about the subject, and encourages awareness of the problem in the spirit of prevention.
Cindy McCain joined the CARE Board of Directors and the Marketing and Development Committee in 2005
Juliet Lac, Elegant Survivor
Released by a British division of Random House on January 3rd, 2008: a woman's gripping story of escape from Vietnam, and her amazing survival when all around her death and chaos reigned. My friend, Juliet Lac has written an autobiography entitled, War Child. Juliet, a long-time resident of California and Paris, France, is the author of a popular ex-patriate website, Paris Woman. Juliet's book takes you along on her journey from Vietnam to an ultimately successful life in the west. Her interpretations and analyses of prejudices that she experiences are insightful and very personal, while giving us a bird's eye view of the human condition in general. Despite many hardships, Juliet develops the determination and personal power to surmount all obstacles in her path. Juliet Lac is a true American. A new, American edition version of her autobiographical book will make its debut in spring, 2009, by Citadel Press: Blossoms on the Wind, by Juliet Lac.
Phyllis Diller, Elegant Survivor
July 17th, 2008: Happy 91st Birthday, Phyllis Diller
Photo by Richard Avedon
Happy 91st Birthday to Phyllis Diller, one of the
funniest women of all time!
Shirley Temple Black, Elegant Survivor
~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008
There's a wonderful article about the Houston woman who inspired Charlie Wilson's War, and made it possible. The effort, with Congressman Charlie Wilson (D-Lufkin, TX) to get Russia out of Afghanistan, was a success. Joanne Herring, by Claudia Feldman SF Gate, Sunday, December 16, 2007 Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of Kids Company charity in Great Britain, knows what it means to be a survivor. She is helping young people in London to overcome conditions at home that lead to violence and disaster. Having had a childhood of privilege, Camila Batmangelidjh's life changed drastically for the worse during and after the Iranian revolution in the 1970s. After personal hardship and tragedy, she pulled up her socks and became an award-winning psychologist and philanthropist. Read a piece on this gracious woman in the BBC News. ~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008
Dimple Johnson, Elegant Survivor
Dimple was pronounced dead after a devastating car accident twenty-some years ago. She is writing about her inspirational life; I will soon link to Dimple's future website. This accomplished lady is a Mary Kay sales director.
~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008
Brooke Astor: a Great, Elegant Lady
During the 1980s, my husband did some charity work in Manhattan. He accompanied the late philanthropist Brooke Astor on her visits to the poor charity offices in drug-infested, poor sections of the city. When asked by someone why she went there dripping with jewels and swathed in fur (it wasn't my husband who asked--he always appeared with jacket and tie, hat and walking stick), Mrs. Astor replied that the people would be disappointed if she didn't. She was a lady who understood people, having grown up around the world as the daughter of a military official; and while devoting her life to helping others, Brooke Astor was true to herself.
Copyright M-J de Mesterton ©2008
