Terry - by George McGovern (Paperback)

About the Book

Just before Christmas 1994, Senator George McGovern received the terrible news that his 45-year-old daughter, Terry, had frozen to death while in an alcoholic stupor. With courage and compassion, McGovern addresses the private tragedy that was Terry's affliction, providing a valuable contribution to the understanding of alcoholism and personal loss.

Book Synopsis

"McGovern's story is riveting as he investigates his daughter's life, reads her anguished and accusatory diaries, interviews her friends and doctors, sifts through the sordid police and medical records... a family drama of love and loss."--New York Times

Rarely has a public figure addressed such difficult, intimate issues with such courage and bravery. In a moving, passionate memoir, former Senator George McGovern recalls the events leading up to his daughter Terry's death as a result of alcoholism. What McGovern learned from Terry is an unforgettable, poignant tale certain to engender controversy and compassion.

Review Quotes

"McGovern's story is riveting as he investigates his daughter's life, reads her anguished and accusatory diaries, interviews her friends and doctors, sifts through the sordid police and medical records... a family drama of love and loss."--The New York Times Book Review

"Terry reads like William Styron's Lie Down in Darkness... Heartbreaking... It is probably the quintessential American experience of the second half of this century, a precariously stable family trying to hold on to a child who--because of drugs, drink, depression--cannot be held on to, and who sinks away, into some form of oblivion."--Carolyn See, The Washington Post

About the Author

George McGovern served in the U.S. Senate for 18 years and was the 1972 Democratic candidate for president. He directed the first Food for Peace Program under President John F. Kennedy. A decorated World War II bomber pilot (Distinguished Flying Cross), he held a PhD in history from Northwestern University and taught at Dakota Wesleyan University. He was named by former president Bill Clinton in 1997 as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization. In 2000, he was awarded the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Freedom. He died in 2012 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the age of 90.