Half-Life of a Zealot

Hunt Swanee Hunt

Description

Swanee Hunt's life has lived up to her Texas-size childhood. Daughter of legendary oil magnate H. L. Hunt, she grew up in a household dominated by an arch-conservative patriarch who spawned a brood of colorful offspring. Her family was nothing if not zealous, and that zeal-albeit for more compassionate causes-propelled her into a mission that reaches around the world.Half-Life of a Zealot tells how the girl who spoke against "Reds" alongside her father became a fierce advocate for progressive change in America and abroad, an innovative philanthropist, and Bill Clinton's Ambassador to Austria. In captivating prose, Hunt describes the warmth and wear of Southern Baptist culture, which instilled in her a calling to help those who are vulnerable. The reader is drawn into her full-throttle professional life as it competes with critical family needs.Hunt gives a remarkably frank account of her triumphs and shortcomings; her sorrows, including a miscarriage and the failure of a marriage; the joys and struggles of her second marriage; and her angst over the life-threatening illness of one of her three children. She is candid about the opportunities her fortune has created, as well as the challenge of life as an heiress.Much of Swanee Hunt's professional life is devoted to expanding women's roles in making and shaping public policy. She is the founding director of Harvard's Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School of Government, chair of the Initiative for Inclusive Security, and president of the Hunt Alternatives Fund.Swanee Hunt's autobiography brims over with strong women: her mother, whose religious faith and optimism were an inspiration; her daughter, who fights the social stigma of mental disorders; the women of war-torn Bosnia, who transformed their grief into action; and friends like Hillary Clinton, who used her position as First Lady to strengthen the voices of others.Hunt is one more strong woman. Half-Life of a Zealot is her story-so far.

Sujets

• Memoir
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 04 octobre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780822388265
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

HalfLifeof aZealot

Swanee Hunt

HalfLifeof aZealot

                                     

©  Duke University Press All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper  Typeset in ITC Stone by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book.

Bob Dylan lyrics copyright ©  by Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission. ‘‘Someone to Watch over Me,’’ music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, ©  WB Music Corp. (Renewed). This arrangement © WB Music Corp. All rights reserved. ‘‘Open House,’’ ©  by Theodore Roethke, fromThe Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, by Theodore Roethke. Used by permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. The lines from ‘‘may my heart always be open to little,’’ © , © , , by the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust, fromComplete Poems, –, by E. E. Cummings, edited by George J. Firmage. Used by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation.

                 

If kids and husbands had the choice Of mom and wife who raised her voice Or tended home and darned their socks Content to think within the box, They might express constrained remorse That I’ve not been a gentler force. Still, to the quartet I call home I dedicate this telling tome; For in between a wink or wince They’ve rallied to a dense defense When I’ve been dunned by fate or foes And fortune’s ways have yielded woes. And so dear Teddy, Henry, Lil, Be sure this author meant no ill When penning page of love, and life, Of marbled mom, and worried wife. Remember precious Granny Ruth Whose pluck prevailed to transform truth And share the smile across Charles’ face Despite the tales of Swanee Grace.

Contents

            

Introduction

      Roots: Rural and Right

     Steps Forward Two

      Finding My Voice

      Politics, Prestige, and Peril

      Queen for a Day

      Call Me Swanee

      Tender Mercies

Index

ix

xi

















            

Folks say that when I’m at my best, I’m a wonder. But my zeal in tack- ling wrongs can render me a difficult boss, as well as an insufferable daughter, sister, or mother. Sometimes I’m insufferable even to myself. In those times, I’ve been saved by hovering angels who anticipate my missteps, coach and encourage me, help me repair my mischief and blaze new paths. In my immediate family, our son Henry has wondered what could possibly drive me to be so public about my story, and our son Teddy is sure that this book is yet another example of my unenlightened state. But they have decided not to let it come between us. I owe particular thanks, however, to my husband, Charles, and my daughter, Lillian. Both have allowed difficult moments in their lives to be revealed along with mine. But beyond that generosity, they have been my cheering section throughout these eight years of writing, and I love them for that. As I was crafting this paragraph, Charles appeared with a cup of coffee and a plate of sliced peaches for me; now he’s gone downstairs to read through my introduction. And Lillian has called my cell phone almost every day for two weeks with dozens of edits, every one right on target. My two sisters and brother-in-law—June Hunt, Helen LaKelly Hunt, and Harville Hendrix, all authors themselves—have helped me find facts, tone, and flow. Helen’s daughter Kimberly Kreiling has been my companion late at night, sitting on the floor in pajamas, watching family movies. And Caroline Ansbacher, from Charles’s side, offered comments. So this chronicling has been a family affair.