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.