Things I Learned about Bay Buchanan

I just watched Bay Buchanan on ABC This Week.  Bay is a conservative activist and the sister of conservative commentator and former Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan.

I was intrigued to learn two things today, from the show and also from my reading online.  First of all, Bay was a single parent for years, and she recently wrote a book about that experience entitled Bay and Her Boys: Unexpected Lessons I Learned As a (Single) Mom.  I appreciated the description of the book on Amazon, especially as I consider the tendency of some conservatives to badmouth single-parent homes: “Twenty-three years ago, Bay Buchanan was thrown–or as she says, dumped–into the world of single parenting. It wasn’t a popular time to be raising kids solo, especially as a rising star in the conservative movement. But she quickly realized she needed to overcome the hurt and confusion and focus on giving her all to her children…Buchanan also wants to change the national dialogue about single moms with a shot across the bow of both conservatives and liberals. This book is the first step by a prominent conservative to be there for all mothers: standing with them, inspiring them, and arming them with tools that will help their kids succeed in life.”

Second, I was interested to learn that Bay converted to Mormonism years ago, when her family was staunchly Catholic.  Rob Howe’s 1996 article about Bay in People magazine narrates: “Working in Sydney as a bookkeeper, she met an American who introduced her to the Mormon faith before she returned to the U.S. two years later. In a painful break with the family that took years to heal, she converted in 1976. When she married William Jackson, a California attorney, in a Mormon ceremony in 1982, only brother Henry attended. ‘I’d have preferred everyone being there, but they have to make their own choices,’ she says.”  This somewhat shattered my stereotype of the Buchanan family, as people who think alike on politics and religion.  On politics, that may be the case (though I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some difference of opinion).  On religion, not entirely!

I found Bay’s book on Amazon for an inexpensive price, so I ordered it.  Here‘s a good discussion with Bay about her book.