I watch the Today show most mornings with my first cup of coffee, while tackling my business e-mails. Yesterday, Matt did an interview with Elizabeth Edwards. The woman has amazing strength. Then this morning Meridith V. interviewed two ‘experts’ one who felt that Mrs. Edwards was wrong to write the book and open up wounds that she felt might have been healing. The other ‘expert’ felt that Elizabet handled it correctly. You know me, I always have an opinion. I lost much respect for Hilary Clinton when she stayed in her marriage after multiple infidelities on the part of her husband. So why do I feel differently about Elizabeth Edwards?
First, Elizabeth is in an entirely different situation than Hilary was. She’s battling a killer disease and she still has young children. Although leaving her cheating husband might be a better thing for her, with her own uncertain future it would not be the best thing for her children. And when Ms. Expert with the oh so proper English accent mentions that Elizabeth is rubbing salt in a healing wound…how would she know? Just because time has passed doesn’t mean things have gotten easier for any of the Edwards family. Experts shouldn’t make assumptions from the outside. A family can look to the outside world like everything is just peachy, but have some major ugliness going on behind closed doors.
I think that as a mother, Elizabeth Edwards would not have written and released the book if she felt it was going to cause her children more pain. I believe she felt it was important for her children to hear her side of the story, for her to explain her feelings and the reasons behind her decisions. She felt it was vital to leave them a picture of their mother as a fighter, someone who weathered bad times with grace and dignity.
And if there is a certain amount of ‘take that’ directed toward her husband, doesn’t she deserve to dish that out too?
