Betty Ford Dies At Age 93

"She started dialogues that changed America".

Elizabeth Bloomer "Betty" Ford circa 1975. Most admired first lady, mother to 4 children, professional dancer, wife, model...changed the attitudes in America about addiction. Started the Betty Ford Center, a woman who would once be quoted as saying it was "time to bring abortion out of the backwoods and into the hospitals where it belonged". She was a den mother, a soccer mom, a breast cancer survivor, something that would motivate thousands of woman to have mammograms.While living in the White House she would tell McCalls magazine that her and her husband the late Gerald Ford would "have sex as often as possible." She acknowledged premarital sex as being normal, advocated for more governments money for the arts and supported equal rights and aid for sick and abused children. She and her family were residents of Palm Springs, one of my favorite places to be where she became quite the socialite devoting her time to raising money for causes for which she believed in.
She was addicted to pain killers and alcohol and after her families intervention on April Fools Day 1978 she admitted herself to rehab at the Naval Hospital.
She reinvented herself and brought the drug and alcohol rehabilitation she received to the people of California.
She realized alcohol was a bigger problem for many women because "expectations of virtue are higher for women." She shared her story and those of other brave and courageous women through a series of books.
She pioneered the idea that women can be treated for alcoholism as well as men.
She was a role model for women and should and will be an inspiration for us all.