Synopses & Reviews
Four years ago she electrified a nation by galvanizing the largest protest march in U.S. history. Now the leader of the Million Mom March for Sensible Gun Laws is set to do it again...
Donna Dees-Thomases was a one-day-a-week publicist and a carpooling suburban mom when news of a deadly shooting at a day care center changed her life. This senseless act of violence inspired her to lead 750,000 mothers (and sympathizers) to Washington, D.C., and 250,000 other marchers around the country in a protest against weak gun laws and preventable deaths.
This is the story of a million moms who organized over coffee in small towns, made T-shirts, posted fliers, and maxed out their credit cards. But it's the story of gun victims, too: the stagehand who was fatally shot by a man who was clearly deranged but still had access to guns; the sniper on the Empire State Building; the six-year-old who loaded, concealed, and shot a weapon at school. The book is full of information that will empower any mother to better the world for her children whether it means improving school lunches or working for better traffic lights.
The assault weapons ban expires in September 2004 allowing the sale of Uzis and AK-47s so gun control will once again be front-page news around Mother's Day. Once again, a million moms will march on Washington, and attendance by both media and participants will be remarkable. Looking for a Few Good Moms will be there, too leading the national debate.
Review
"This book is a life lesson in how the indignation of one person can give voice to a movement. Donna Dees-Thomases' decision to take on the gun lobby evolved from a simple notion sometimes a mother's got to do what a mother's got to do. She reminds us that with determination, tenacity, and 'a few good moms,' anything is possible." Meredith Vieira, moderator of ABC's The View
Review
"As engaging and straight-ahead as the woman herself, Donna Dees-Thomases' Looking for a Few Good Moms is an inspiring depiction of our power to change America for the better. This is a must-read for anyone who wonders why we lose so many of us to guns, and how to stem this tragic tide of violence." Richard North Patterson, best-selling author of Balance of Power
Synopsis
Donna Dees-Thomases was a one-day-a-week publicist and a carpooling suburban mom when news of a deadly shooting at a day care center changed her life. This senseless act of violence inspired her to lead 750,000 mothers (and sympathizers) to Washington, D.C., and 250,000 other marchers around the country in a protest against weak gun laws and preventable deaths. This is the story of a million moms who organized over coffee in small towns, made T-shirts, posted fliers, and maxed out their credit cards. But it's the story of gun victims, too: the stagehand who was fatally shot by a man who was clearly deranged but still had access to guns; the sniper on the Empire State Building; the six-year-old who loaded, concealed, and shot a weapon at school. The book is full of information that will empower any mother to better the world for her children-whether it means improving school lunches or working for better traffic lights. The assault weapons ban expires in September 2004--allowing the sale of Uzis and AK-47s--so gun control will once again be front-page news around Mother's Day. Once again, a million moms will march on Washington and attendance by both media and participants will be remarkable. "Looking for a Few Good Moms will be there, too--leading the national debate.
Synopsis
In the summer of 1999, Donna Dees-Thomases was busy juggling the demands of two young children and a TV job promoting comedy gags. But one day she learned about a shooting, and in the space of just a few hours, everything in Donna's life changed. . . .
She decided to round up mothers--a group even more formidable than the gun lobby--to show Congress that mothers care about the gun-violence epidemic in America. She called her as-yet-unborn movement the MILLION MOM MARCH, even though she was, at the time, launching a revolution of one. In an astonishingly short 9 months, on Mother's Day 2000, Donna fulfilled her mission--and made history--when she was joined by nearly a million other mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends who were determined to let our government know that the time for enacting sensible gun laws is now. Not even the great marches of the Civil Rights movement drew as many people as the MILLION MOM MARCH. How did one mother get the attention of our government-and the world? Looking for a Few Good Moms shows how we all can make a difference if we are willing to take a stand.
About the Author
Donna Dees-Thomases is a public relations consultant who lectures frequently on grassroots organizing. Currently she is a consultant for the Million Mom March United with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which organized the second Million Mom March on Washington, held on Mother's Day 2004. She lives in New York City with her two daughters. This is her first book.
Alison Hendrie is a writer whose feature stories and essays have appeared in the New York Times and the New York Post, as well as Parents, Parenting, Fitness, and other national magazines. She lives with her husband and four children in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.