“She writes that one of the moments that she felt most useful was when her mother had a headache, and she would stroke her head and rub her forehead. And I think Eleanor Roosevelt's entire life was dedicated to two things: (one) making it better for all people, people in trouble and in need, like her family.” PeopleThinkingNeedsWritingTwoMomentsMotherFeltTroubleTwo ThingsDedicatedStrokesForeheadsHeadacheLike HerEleanor Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Well, when Eleanor Roosevelt's mother dies, she goes to live with her Grandmother Hall. And her Grandmother Hall is in mourning. She's in widow's weeds. She's in her 50s, but appears very old. And she's exhausted from raising rather out-of-control children. Her favorite daughter, Anna, has died (Eleanor's mother), and she has living at home two other sons, Vallie and Eddie. And they are incredible sportsmen, incredible drinkers, out-of-control alcoholics.” WellsChildrenTwoHomeMotherDiesSonDaughterDiedIncrediblesMourningGrandmotherHallsWeedExhaustedAlcoholicsWidowsAnnaDrinkersEleanorSportsman Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“And Grandmother Hall really imagines that she can raise Eleanor and her two brothers differently than these children were raised. And if she is very strict and everything is very regimented and ordered and disciplined, that they will become the perfect children who her own children did not become.” IfsChildrenTwoPerfectImagineBrotherRaisesRaisedGrandmotherHallsImagine ThatStrictEleanorTwo BrothersPerfect Child Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“A lot of people say that Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't a good mother. And there are two pieces to that story. One is, when they were very young, she was not a good mother. She was an unhappy mother. She was an unhappy wife. She had never known what it was to be a good mother. She didn't have a good mother of her own. And so there's a kind of parenting that doesn't happen.” PeopleKindTwoStoriesHappensYoungMotherKnownPiecesWifeUnhappyEleanorGood Mother Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“Well, the fact is, we can never know what people do in the privacy of their own rooms. The door is closed. The blinds are drawn. We don't know. I leave it up to the reader. But there's no doubt in my mind that they loved each other, and this was an ardent, loving relationship between two adult women.” PeopleKnowsMindWellsTwoFactsRoomsDoubtDoorsReaderAdultsNo DoubtPrivacyArdentLoving Relationships Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
“She really is a completely different First Lady. Eleanor Roosevelt was not going to suffer and withdraw in the White House. And I think he's a very different President. He does not want his wife to suffer and withdraw in the White House. And they really are partners. They're partners in a big house where there are two separate courts, and they both know they have two separate courts. But these are courts that are allied in purpose, united in vision.” ThinkingKnowsWantFirstsDoeTwoDifferentBigsPurposeSufferingHousePresidentWhiteUnitedVisionWifeCourtPartnersWhite HouseFirst LadyEleanorBig Houses Author:Blanche Wiesen Cook
