Hillary Clinton writes tribute to Mom in new book

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___ In honor of Mother's Day, Vogue published a portion of Clinton's reflections on her mother, Dorothy Howell Rodham, who died in 2011 at age 92. Clinton notes the impact her mother had on Chelsea, the Clintons' only child, who is expecting a child of her own later this year.

"For Chelsea, her grandmother was one of the most important figures in her life," Clinton writes. "Mom helped Chelsea navigate the unique challenges of growing up in the public eye and, when she was ready, encouraged her to pursue her passion for service and philanthropy. Even in her 90s, Mom never lost her commitment to social justice, which did so much to mold and inspire me when I was growing up. I loved that she was able to do the same for Chelsea."

"Mom’s own childhood was marked by trauma and abandonment. In Chicago her parents fought frequently and divorced when she and her sister were young. Neither parent was willing to care for the kids, so they were put on a train to California to live with their paternal grandparents in Alhambra, a town near the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles. The elderly couple was severe and unloving. One Halloween, after Mom was caught trick-or-treating with school friends, a forbidden activity, she was confined to her room for an entire year, except for the hours she was in school. She wasn’t allowed to eat at the kitchen table or play in the yard. By the time Mom turned fourteen, she could no longer bear life in her grandmother’s house. She moved out and found work as a housekeeper and nanny for a kindhearted woman in San Gabriel who offered room and board plus $3 a week and urged her to attend high school. For the first time she saw how loving parents care for their children—it was a revelation."

"After graduating from high school Mom moved back to Chicago in the hopes of reconnecting with her own mother. Sadly she was spurned yet again. Heartbroken, she spent the next five years working as a secretary before she met and married my father, Hugh Rodham. She built a new life as a homemaker, spending her days lavishing love on me and my two younger brothers."

Hillary Rodham (center) with her father, mother, and brother, Hugh Jr.


In the excerpt, Clinton writes that she confided in her mother during the difficult months after her bruising loss to then-Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries.

"I'd come home from a long day at the Senate or the State Department, slide in next to her at the small table in our breakfast nook, and let everything just pour out," she writes of her mother, who lived with her in Washington through the 2000s.

"Mom measured her own life by how much she was able to help us and serve others," Clinton writes. "I knew that if she was still with us, she would be urging us to do the same. Never rest on your laurels. Never quit. Never stop working to make the world a better place. That's our unfinished business."

"When I became Secretary of State, Mom was just about to turn 90," Clinton writes. "She had been living with us in Washington for the past few years, ever since being alone in her apartment overlooking the zoo on Connecticut Avenue became too much. Like so many Americans of my generation, I felt both blessed to have these extra years with an aging parent and very responsible for making sure she was comfortable and well cared for. Mom gave me so much unconditional love and support when I was growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois; now it was my turn to support her. Of course I never would have let her hear me describe it that way. Dorothy Howell Rodham was a fiercely independent woman. She couldn't bear the thought of being a burden to anyone."

Then secretary of state, Clinton was about to depart for a foreign trip when she got the news that her mom had been rushed to a D.C. hospital.

"I quickly canceled the trip and sped there," she writes. "Bill, Chelsea, and Marc rushed down from New York, and my brothers and their wives, Hugh and Maria and Tony and Megan, arrived as quickly as they could. Mom was a fighter her entire life, but it was finally time to let go. I sat by her bedside and held her hand one last time. No one had a bigger influence on my life or did more to shape the person I became."

Clinton says she could not recall her mom ever looking happier than she did on the day of Chelsea's wedding in 2010. "She proudly walked down the aisle," Clinton writes, "and exulted over her joyful, radiant granddaughter."

In this photo released by Genevieve de Manio Photography, Chelsea Clinton, right, is joined by her grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, center, and her mother, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on Chelsea’s wedding day, Saturday, July 31, 2010 in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

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1. What a lovely tribute, it brought tears to my eyes.

Mrs. Rodham was a great mom to her children, just as Hillary is a great mom to Chelsea. I have no doubt that she too will be a good mom to her child.

Happy Mother's Day to the Rodham women and to all the moms on DU!!!

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2. Chelsea tweets

Chelsea Clinton ?@ChelseaClinton 1h

I think about the lessons my grandmother taught me everyday, happy to celebrate her memory on #MothersDay http://vogue.cm/1iDJknH

[Beacool]

4. That's a lovely photo.

Thanks for posting this article, it's very moving.

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3. reply from Hillary

Hillary Clinton ?@HillaryClinton 1h

.@voguemagazine . . . Wishing all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day, & looking forward to celebrating a new mother soon.