Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessing--Then and Now [Paperback]

Rosemary Mild (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Fithian Press (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564742954
• ISBN-13: 978-1564742957
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,671,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ROSEMARY, a graduate of Smith College, is a former assistant editor of Harper's, a managing editor of Chemical Times &Trends, and an engineering writer at Westinghouse. She is the author of the much acclaimed Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessings--Then and Now. She is also the author of the newly published Miram's World--and Mine. Together with husband Larry they have authored three Paco and Molly murder mysteries: Lox and Cream Cheese, Hot Grudge Sunday, and Boston Scream Pie. With Larry, they authored the much acclaimed Cry Ohana, Adventure and Suspense in Hawaii. She has published articles in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Washington Parent, Washington Woman, Senior Highlights, Smith Alumnae Quarterly, and elsewhere. She is a member of the National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Maryland Writers' Association.
The Milds divide their time between Severna Park, Maryland and Honolulu,Hawaii, where they have family including two granddaughters. Additional family including two grandsons and a granddaughter--as well as 15 grandhorses--draw them to South Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chronicle of the life of an extraordinary daughter., August 1, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Jodi Horigan) (Stafford, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessing--Then and Now (Paperback)

"Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessings--Then and Now" is a journey through the life of Miriam Lube Wolfe, who was a victim aboard Pan Am's flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, December 21, 1988. Miriam was 20 years old.

As a co-worker of Miriam's father, I felt deep and helpless sympathy when he lost his only child in this horrible act of terrorism. In the days and weeks following Miriam's death, I often heard her described by those who knew her as extraordinary." Because I did not know her, I took this description with a grain of salt. After all, how extraordinary can a 20-year-old actually be? "Miriam's Gift" taught me just that!

Rosemary Mild, Miriam's mother, takes us on her journey to glean some understanding of her child's death--and life. And on that journey,Mild not only remembers the child she knew, she discovers the child she might never have known had Miriam lived. From letters shared by friends, from her journals, notes, and essays, we, with Mild, learn how often and how deeply Miriam touched the lives and hearts of others. A prolific and gifted writer, the person who was Miriam emerges from her written words, which are lovingly, tenderly, and powerfully woven with her mother's beautifully crafted account of her years with Miriam and the hell she experienced after learning that her child was aboard that doomed flight.

Mild takes us through the horrific moments, hours, days, and months following the disaster. Together we reach the place where we can share with her (and the other families) outrage at the unfeeling treatment of victims' families by Pan Am and our own State Department, and at the slipshod security employed by one of our nation's (then) largest airlines. We are astounded at the complexity of deception that kept Pan Am 103 departing on schedule when it should have been grounded after warnings that something was going to happen. All this is related not with the hysterical ax-grinding to which Mild and the others are certainly entitled, but with a slow unfolding that leaves the reader with disbelief and shame that such contempt for human feelings exists either in industry or our government. Triumphs in the face of such sorrow seem small by comparison to the horror, but triumphs there are, and by living the process of how the victims achieved them, we, the readers, are elated that something--that ANYTHING--positive may have risen from the wreckage of Pan Am 103 and the lives of those lost and left behind.

Mild's greatest triumph, however, is having done the seemingly impossible--she has brought Miriam back to life not only for those who knew and loved her, but for those who did not have that opportunity. From Mild's skilled hand, Miriam becomes a part of our lives, and from Miriam's articulate writings and conversations related by family and friends, she will remain so. Within this 20-year-old child lived an old soul--a soul filled with knowledge and love and wisdom. From this child we adults, who consider ourselves fairly knowledgeable about life, learn passion and compassion, action and spirit. Wise far beyond her years, Miriam has something to say to us all about living life to its fullest, for this she surely did. Talented, incredibly bright, caring, and sensitive to human suffering, and outraged at society's wrongdoings, which she saw so clearly and sought to improve, it is ironic that it was a vast collection of society's failures that led to her death.

But, thanks to Mild's courage and love for her daughter, Miriam lives on in the hearts and minds of countless numbers of people from widely disparate backgrounds. This beautifully tender, yet powerful work extends Miriam's gift far beyond her own expectations, which were enormous, to say the least! I am grateful that Rosemary Mild chose to share Miriam's gifts with the world. In so doing, this bright, talented, articulate, bouncy, curly-haired dynamo did not vanish in the darkness of that cold December sky. She lives on within--and for--all of us, continuing to share her gift that we may embrace life as she did-- wholeheartedly determined to make a difference.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read.", May 26, 2000

By 

Robert J. Gross (Potomac, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessing--Then and Now (Paperback)

Having worked as an aviation defense attorney for over 15 years, I wanted to learn more about the plaintiff's side. But I got a lot more than I bargained for when I read "Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessing - Then and Now." Rosemary Mild has written an extraordinary memoir -- the layout is perfect, the pictures of Miriam are stunning, not a word in the book is wasted, and the story itself, with its myriad insights, is nothing short of compelling. Without a doubt, it transformed me into a much more undertanding and compasionate person. "Miriam's Gift" is Rosemary's gift to the world. Thank you for your courage, strength, love and incredible writing ability.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rosemary's Gift, July 17, 2001

By 

Mrs. J. Watson (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessing--Then and Now (Paperback)

Rosemary Mild has written a wonderful tribute to her very much loved daughter Miriam. Miriam at aged 20 years was murdered when Pan Am flight 103 crashed over Lockerbie. Rosemary carefully recalls Miriams early years as a baby and their flourishing relationship as she grew into a very fine young woman. She clearly was outstanding and poised on the pinnacle of life itself as fine young student and incredible human being. She was more than a photo much more than a few embroidered lines on a tribute quilt. She was someones daughter and someones friend and had done so much for so many in her short time on this earth. This is a loving book written with compassion and warmth and will move you to tears as it did me as you go through the emotional journey that Rosemary takes you it is clear to see that Miriam was indeed gifted and the world has lost someobne very special.