Customer Reviews

Heidi Redux

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Heidi Redux is a memoir as unique as the woman who wrote it. Every page reflects her irrepressible personailty and strength. In the foreword by U.S. Surgeon General (Retired) C. Everett Koop, he states that Heidi has "rubbed shoulders with the great and near great." Still, it's clear that she has not allowed friendships and professional associations with presidents and senators to change her basic outlook.

Heidi grew up poor in the forties. Admittedly, her childhood was far from being Utopia. From one failed attempt at farming to another, her hard working step father and less-than-nurturing mother struggled to make ends meet. Heidi was a precocious child, curious with a vivid imagination. Her clothes and hair were often unkempt; their homes had no running water or electricity so cleanliness was not a priority. But Heidi made straight As in school and took great pride in every accomplishment. Good grades earned her paid scholarships to nursing school. Heidi excelled in nursing school, despite a disastrous first marriage, and took life firmly by the horns soon after passing R.N. state boards.

The adult Heidi is intelligent, erudite, an adventuresome spirit, risk-taker, adept manager, devoted wife to her second husband.....and alcoholic. True to form, she takes on the world and climbs the ladder of success while battling a dependency on alcohol. Her husband is a respected Neuropsychiatrist appointed to responsible positions in both the public and private sector. First Governor, then President Reagan is his friend. It's during the Reagan years that Heidi and her husband gain important positions in Washington D.C. Their work takes them around the world as they circulate with potentates and kings. But it's her determined struggle for sobriety that this reader will remember.

Heidi Redux is an amazing journey. The author takes us with her from stark childhood to policy maker in the rarefied air of Washington D.C. to her retirement in the present day. Along the way, as we see the world through her eyes, she shares her thoughts on such profound subjects as the causes and effects of our failed mental health system and the labyrinthine workings of government and military spending.

The author shares her life with forthright humor. She doesn't mince words or make excuses. Heidi simply tells it like it is with fast-paced prose and keeps on trucking. Hers is a fascinating story, well told, and deserving of a wide audience. Heidi is one of a kind.

I thoroughly enjoyed Heidi Redux. Heidi's is a true-to-life Cinderella story, minus the benefit of a fairy godmother. She tells her story with humor and a frankness that keeps you reaching for the next page. It's a beautifully written and inspiring book. I highly recommend it.

An Astonishing look into an innocent heart
To read this small jewel of a book is to look into the mind and heart of a simple, wholly unsophisticated farm girl who, by dint of a certain joyous, courageous effort journeys into the highest levels of government power, telling it exactly as it was, with refreshing candor and the simplicity of a Grandma Moses painting. An inspiring and touching tale of the colorful life of an American girl who became a powerful woman. Along the way she conquers alcoholism, finds her soul mate, and lives out her life 'happily ever after.'

This is a gutsy book by a gutsy woman. As C. Everett Koop, M.D. noted in the Foreword, it reads almost like a diary. The writing style is Grandma Moses in literary form. It flows effortlessly from one chapter to another, chronicaling the life of an unloved child who matter-of-factly trudges onward and upward. It's also a touching love story along the way. I found the description of how she dealt with her alcoholism enlightening and believe it will give hope to the women battling this devastating disease.