There are books and there are books. Some books get you excited from the beginning and leave you wondering why you bought them half way through.  Some are a bit flat from the beginning but gets exciting as you read - that is not bad. Some are just what I call “higgledy – piggledy – all over the place. There are also books that are difficult to describe, not boring, not too exciting. Some are a pain to read but you read them because they must be read.

It is therefore rare to find a book that centers on a living being that gets you so excited that you do not sleep or take a break until you have finished the last words. Even after the last pages you still feel disappointed that there aren’t more pages.

The last scenario is the experience I had this weekend. A colleague in the office had recommended this book to me a few months ago. When my regular bookseller brought me a copy I grabbed it.

As soon as I took it home, one of my girls took the book and finished it in a few days. I still didn’t pay attention to it. 

A few days ago, a visit to my hairdresser gave me an opportunity to find a quick read. I decided to take the book titled “Gifted Hands”. Written by Greg Lewis and Deborah Shaw Lewis, the book is a true life story of a boy who went from “class dummy” to a brilliant pediatric neurosurgeon.

I love to read and when I get an interesting book I try to finish it as soon as I can and sometimes it could take about two weeks because of my schedule. I am only able to read a few hours during weekends, before I sleep or whilst waiting in between meetings or appointments.

This experience was different.  As soon I took the book I couldn’t rest till I had finished it and I read the 142 page book in a day. I had to stay up late to finish it. I was so excited, driven and challenged by the story of how a poor single black mother was able to turn around the life of two boys in the United States.

I was inspired by the story, filled with the valuable lessons in the books and obsessed with the matters it presented. The story taught me so many lessons –  not that I didn’t know them already – but the story tellers succeeded in driving the adrenalin in me so hard that I could hardly sit or put the book down.

The story brought home the realities of the lives of single mothers and I began to empathize with those who are in similar situations without any skills, work or financial support. I celebrate all single mothers who have singlehandedly raised their children to become active social contributors.

Dr Ben Carson’s story is one that should be told everywhere and especially in Ghana and I recommend this book to every parent and young person who haven’t read it yet. It is a must read for anyone who is serious about bringing up honest, responsible and God fearing children. The story of Dr Carson is fascinating, amazing and sometimes mystical.

What I loved most about this book is that it has a fantastic way of reinforcing the interplay between Science and Religion – some of the experiences described by Dr Carson can be considered enigmatic. The book, which is centered on the life of the medical doctor gives us a reason why we need to depend on God for our survival and the way in which Dr Carson attributes his success to God is most spectacular.

If I were Dr Carson’s Mum I will be on top of the world. I picked up valuable lessons which I summarize below.

Sonya Carson taught us that you can raise hardworking, honest and intelligent children even in the midst of extreme poverty. She taught them the value of a dollar. She also taught her boys how to create wealth. They often heard their mother say, “A penny earned is a penny saved”.

Mrs. Carson also planted in her children the values of honesty and integrity. The women, a devout Adventist, thought her children to rely on God and to pray for wisdom when she saw how terrible their grades were. She said during the children’s worse moments; “Tonight I am going to pray for wisdom, I’m going to ask God for what I need to do to help you. And do you know the answer she provided the children two days after her prayer? She said, “God says we need to turn off our TV”. You can use the extra time for reading and she made the children go to the public library to read, write reports and read out loud to her.

Mrs. Carson knew when to get help. As a result of the frustrations and hardships she went through she became depressed. Yet, she did not give up. Without the knowledge of her children, she checked herself in and out of a mental hospital on several occasions. She did that for several years, relying on relatives to help in caring for the children.

She also believed in her children and spoke positively about them. She said, “My boys are going to be something. No matter what they decide to do they are going to be the best in the world at it”.

Above all, she taught her children to rely on God and this helped them in their career.

In the second part of this article I will share how Ben Carson who was once described as the dumbest person in his class grew up to be one of the best brain surgeons in the world and being the recipient of more than 50 honorary doctorate degrees.