Nine Ms and a Mother Like No Other

Book excerpt: In the memoir Nine Ms and a Mother Like No Other, Martial Bednar brings warmth, wit, and insight to this entertaining narrative about his family and their trials and triumphs as they survive a messy divorce, cross-country road trips in broken down jitneys, several siblings split into foster homes, and life-threatening medical experiences and in the end, still consider themselves blessed. Told with candor and humor from the kid brother's unique perspective, Bednar begins with a colorful description of his mother Peggy an heiress whose husband walked out after twenty years of marriage and nine children who became a desperate housewife long before it was in vogue. As he chronicles his jaw-dropping childhood adventures, Bednar also introduces his siblings (the nine Ms) and shares the inspirational story of his brother Merrick, a priest-in-the-making whose profound health crises not only strengthen his own faith, but also the fabric of his entire family. This true story often hysterical, at times heartbreaking gives testimony to the inseparable bonds of family, the incredible power of perseverance and prayer, and the life-sustaining gifts of faith, hope, and love.