How do you say good-bye to the one who gave you life? My way was a biography titled ""Please, Don't Call Me Charlotte."" I needed to convey my mother's spirit. To show her life of self-denial and courage, and compassion for her fellow man; to show how her adversities strengthened her; to show that she was beautiful physically as well as spiritually, successful, yet humble. She knew neither vanity nor conceit. I needed to show that she was a woman of personal integrity and great dignity. ""Please, Don't Call Me Charlotte"" is her life story, and my lasting tribute to her. Not only is the book inspirational, it also contains useful medical information and sheds enlightenment on the dying process beneficial to any reader.
When death came, a grief-stricken Charlotte accepted the mortician's request to comb her mother's hair for the burial and select the music for the service. Later, at the graveside, Charlotte felt the full impact of the future facing her: a seventeen-year-old's promise to take care of her siblings�Walter, age fifteen; Hubert, age eight; and Alberta, two and a half years of age. Will she be able to handle such a responsibility? She had turned seventeen only two days before. Did she have the courage, even the know-how, to face life as a surrogate mother to her brothers and sister?
She needed help. To whom could she turn?
Please Don't Call Me Charlotte is my mother's true and touching life story.