.... the author's mother, Catherine Elizabeth Theresa Lynch McCarthy, and you will share the unremarkable life of a remarkable woman, her many good deeds, wise words and lovable ways. Told by a doctor that she was not strong enough to deliver a child, she brought thirteen into the world- supported them after the abandonment of her husband (""a street angel and a house devil"") and lived to the age of 82. A devout Catholic but equally strong defender of all faiths and races, an excellent housekeeper, knowledgeable far beyond the little education she had, she was an unforgettable force not only within her family but also in the many lives on which she touched, and she achieved a ""life lived perfectly""... A portrait preserved- and extended to what must be a fairly constant, conservative audience for family memoirs.