A Mother's Story

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Summary: A story of inspiration, courage and determination!
Review: This Startling autobiography by country music superstar Tim McGraw's mother, Betty "McMom" Trimble reveals her ultimate triumph over a life of astonishing pain and hardship. Illegitimate teenage pregnancy. A husband who beat her to unconsciousness. Extreme poverty. Life-threatening cancer. And the sexual molestation of her daughter. A chain of challenges that could have defeated anyone. But Betty would not give up. With each new hurdle she summoned the strength to survive. Tim McGraw A Mother's Story begins with 11-year-old Tim's accidental discovery that his real father is baseball great Tug McGraw. In a heart wrenching passage, Betty "McMom" Trimble describes her young son's struggle to come to terms with an onslaught of painful truths: that the man who Tim thought was his father for 11 years was not; that Tim's real father was a wealthy and famous athlete whom he idolized and whose baseball card was taped to his bedroom wall; and that that same famous celebrity, baseball great, Tug McGraw, had chosen a life without him. Trimble recounts her fateful encounter with McGraw in 1966, then a minor league pitcher with the Jacksonville Suns. When she became pregnant after her first and only sexual encounter, McGraw chose a baseball career over Trimble and their son. Betty chose motherhood over her plans for college and a career as a dancer. Tim never saw his father until he asked for a meeting following his discovery of the truth. "Tug's treatment of Tim broke my heart," said Trimble. "But Tim has always been a survivor. Instead of becoming angry, the experience made him stronger and more compassionate." His father's rejection was but one of many hardships endured by Tim and his family. Trimble recounts her struggle to survive extreme poverty and protect Tim from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband, a truck driver in rual Louisiana. In simple, moving prose Trimble documents a bleak existence for her family. One painful episode after another unfolds, leading up to Trimble's diagnosis of life-threatening cancer at the age of 27. Ironically, the desease saved her life. After a successful operation, she determined to make a better life for herself and her family. Trimble left her abusive husband, completed her education, became a bookkeeper and bought a house--all while raising three exceptional children. The family still lived hand-to-mouth, never receiving any money from Tim's increasingly famous and wealthy father. And more hardships followed, including the sexual molestation of her daughter by her second husband. But Trimble's spirit would not be crushed. "I hope others can learn from my experience," Trimble said. "No one should have to endure the kind of pain I lived through." Betty Trimble is affectionately known as "McMom" by a growing circle of fans and admirers. She recently saw history reverse it's self. As a young dancer, Betty received an audition for Dick Clark's Action Dancers in 1967. Her audition date found her well into her pregnancy with her son, and not able to attend. Hearing about Betty's story, the ever young Dick Clark, feeling "your never too old" chose to present to Betty during an appearance on the Leeza Show, a contract, some 30 years after she had made the extreme sacrifice of giving up her career for her unborn son; a choice his father refused to make. This story will make you laugh, cry, and most of all moved to take action on what ever you maybe facing. Trimble's unshakable faith in herself, God and the decency of others gave her strength. That victorious spirit was passed along to Tim McGraw, who has guided his career to the top of the country charts