Looking for a Few Good Moms: How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby [Hardcover]

Donna Dees-Thomases (Author), Alison Hendrie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2004

In the summer of 1999, Donna Dees-Thomases was busy juggling the demands of two young children and a TV job promoting comedy gags. But one day she learned about a shooting, and in the space of just a few hours, everything in Donna's life changed. . . .

She decided to round up mothers--a group even more formidable than the gun lobby--to show Congress that mothers care about the gun-violence epidemic in America. She called her as-yet-unborn movement the MILLION MOM MARCH, even though she was, at the time, launching a revolution of one. In an astonishingly short 9 months, on Mother's Day 2000, Donna fulfilled her mission--and made history--when she was joined by nearly a million other mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends who were determined to let our government know that the time for enacting sensible gun laws is now. Not even the great marches of the Civil Rights movement drew as many people as the MILLION MOM MARCH. How did one mother get the attention of our government-and the world? Looking for a Few Good Moms shows how we all can make a difference if we are willing to take a stand.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"So much gun violence surrounds us, and unless we're caught in the crossfire, most of us don't pay much attention to it," writes Million Mom March founder Dees-Thomases in this call to arms (so to speak) for sensible gun laws. For the author, the decisive moment was watching children the age of her own two daughters shot at in a California Jewish Community Center summer camp in August 1999. Dees-Thomases's decision to structure her story month by month around the birth of the Million Mom March, which took place on Mother's Day 2000, just nine months after she conceived it, gives too much weight to old political battles, as do her rebuttals to NRA criticisms that she was disingenuous in describing herself as "a suburban housewife." As the NRA noted, and Dees-Thomases affirms, she was in fact a former publicist for CBS newscaster Dan Rather, worked for two senators and was a sister-in-law of Hillary Clinton's best friend, Susan Thomases. Despite these quibbles, it's hard not to be moved by the personal stories, intertwined within the larger tale of the birth of a movement, of ordinary women, and some men, who joined the March after losing their children to gun violence. Their moving stories of teenagers killed at the first day of work or by classmates in school shootings put a human face on statistics like "80 people are shot in the U.S. every day," as do profiles of gun control activists such as Sarah Brady and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"This book is a life lesson in how the indignation of one person can give voice to a movement. Donna Dees-Thomases' decision to take on the gun lobby evolved from a simple notion--sometimes a mother's got to do what a mother's got to do. She reminds us that with determination, tenacity, and 'a few good moms,' anything is possible." --Meredith Vieira, moderator of ABC's The View

"As engaging and straight-ahead as the woman herself, Donna Dees-Thomases' Looking for a Few Good Moms is an inspiring depiction of our power to change America for the better. This is a must-read for anyone who wonders why we lose so many of us to guns, and how to stem this tragic tide of violence." --Richard North Patterson, best-selling author of Balance of Power

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (May 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579549977
• ISBN-13: 978-1579549978
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Gun Control

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot can be accomplished in 9 months, April 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Looking for a Few Good Moms: How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby (Hardcover)

This book shows what a difference one person can make. The other reviews of this book erroneously state that the Million Mom March is out to disarm people, or to tread on the rights of law abiding citizens. Not once in the book does she speak of taking away guns. (I have to wonder if these reviewers actually read the book or are attempting to make their "we have enough gun laws, guns don't kill people.." views known in whatever way is possible.)

The Million Mom March takes a middle of the road, sensible stand. Ms. Dees-Thomases speaks of her outrage at the numbers of people killed every year, and together with many others, sought to rally people to end the killing. She led a movement (of which I am proud to be a part)which looks beyond a crime definition of gun violence. The March pulled together various gun control groups, each having a different agenda, to a middle ground which promotes responsible gun ownership, while attempting to close gaps (sales not requiring background checks and limiting gun purchases to one per month) which have created a black market for guns.

I found her description of the dynamics of organization-building fascinating. Anyone mobilizing volunteers can identify with the frustration of pleasing everyone, and dealing with the 151s. Thanks Donna.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The commitment it takes to make a societal change..., July 11, 2004

By 

Dianne "dnersesian" (Maplewood, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking for a Few Good Moms: How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby (Hardcover)

is daunting. Reading this book took me through a roller coaster of emotions- from laughing, to crying, to utter amazement as to what it really takes to effect change in making the USA a safer nation.

I volunteered with Donna from the early days of the Million Mom March and I can tell you firsthand that everything in this book is authentic. Not many people have the courage, passion, or capacity to do what Donna has done. Those of you that have taken liberties on this review board to write unhelpful, childish comments that have nothing to do with the quality of the book are absolute cowards. Instead of wasting all of your energy on bashing other people, why don't you spend some time looking inside yourselves- maybe one day you'll realize that hating others for wanting safer communities comes from the lowest state of mind possible.

To the rest of the population out there, Donna and many others took major risks in their lives to accomplish the mission of creating the Million Mom March. Donna and the rest of the volunteers are doers- not talkers- and her book reflects the incredible unfolding of a major event that continues its work today to fight for a safer country.

Thank you Donna.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One woman's passion fills a million hearts, June 30, 2004

By 

MyParenTime.com "myparentimesfamily" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Looking for a Few Good Moms: How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby (Hardcover)

It's been said that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Well, Donna Dees-Thomases wanted something done, and she managed to get others involved in a very controversial topic.

The book, "Looking for a Few Good Moms: How One Mother Rallied a Million Others Against the Gun Lobby," is the story of how one woman, a mother of two, created a movement and organized the Million Mom March (MMM) in Washington, D.C. on Mother's Day in 2000...and woke up everyone to the tremendous gun problem and the need for enacting better, more sensible gun-safety laws.

MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- it's detailed with daily struggles, obstacles, successes, and most of all...passion. It's proof that there is power in people. There are still hurdles to come, including an upcoming battle to renew a ban against assault weapons such as AK-47s and Uzis. The book also gives a checklist of how the MMM was organized, and explains their solutions to keeping not only our children safe from gun violence, but their families as well.