The Times of My Life Hardcover - 1978

Harper & Row Publishers and The Reader's Digest Assoc. New York. 1978. Canvas-colored boards with copper toned lettering to spine. Fine First Edition (stated) First Printing with requisite number line ending in 1. Inscribed and dated October 17, 1986 on flyleaf. Early in her life Betty Ford (1918-2011) was a dancer and attended the Bennington School of Dance in Vermont. She later became a member of Ms. Graham's Auxilliary Performance Troupe and performed at Carnegie Hall. She married the future President of the U.S. in 1948 two weeks before Mr. Ford was elected to his first of twenty-five years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Four children followed in 1950, 1952, 1956 & 1957. In 1972 the Ford's world changed: the Watergate scandel, the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew ultimately led to the nomination of her husband, Gerald, to become the new Vice President for Richard Nixon. As you know, Nixon in turn resigned in 1974 making her husband, Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the U.S. From the beginning of her husband's presidency, Mrs Ford was a advocate for women's rights and supported passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. When she developed breast cancer she broke with social conventions and opening spoke about her diagnosis and treatment. In 1978 she self-admitted herself for rehab for an addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol. (see Chap 38). In 1982 the Betty Ford Center was opened to help individuals with alcoholism and other drug dependency problems. 6.25x9.75 in. Including Index, 305 pg.