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Elizabeth Edwards

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Elizabeth Edwards
BornMary Elizabeth Anania
(1949-07-03)July 3, 1949
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 2010(2010-12-07) (aged 61)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
OccupationAttorney
Spouse(s)John Edwards (1977–2010)
(her death)
ChildrenWade (1979–1996)
Cate (born 1982)
Emma Claire (born 1998)
Jack (born 2000)

Elizabeth Anania Edwards (born Mary Elizabeth Anania; July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) was an attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 United States Democratic vice-presidential nominee.

Edwards lived a private life until her husband's rise as senator and ultimately unsuccessful vice presidential and presidential campaigns. She was his chief policy advisor during his presidential bid, and was instrumental in pushing him towards more liberal stances on subjects such as universal health care. She was also an advocate of gay marriage and was against the war in Iraq, both topics which she and her spouse disagreed over.

In the final decade of her life, Elizabeth Edwards publicly dealt with her husband's admission of an extramarital affair and her own breast cancer, writing two books and making numerous media appearances. She separated from John Edwards in early 2010. On December 6, 2010, her family announced that her cancer had spread and her doctors had recommended that further treatment would be unproductive. She died the following day.

Family and early life

Elizabeth Anania, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Thweatt Anania (1923-) and Vincent Anania (1920–2008), grew up in a military family, moving many times and never having a hometown. Her father, a United States Navy pilot, was transfered from military base to military base during her childhood and adolescence; for part of her childhood, she lived in Japan, where her father was stationed. She relates in her book Saving Graces that one of the difficult relocations that she went through was moving during her senior year of high school. She was the oldest of three siblings, with a brother, Jay Anania, a professor of film at New York University and a sister Nancy Anania. She graduated from the Francis C. Hammond High School in Alexandria, Virginia, then attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where she received her Bachelor's degree. After three years of postgraduate studies in English, she entered UNC's School of Law and earned a Juris Doctor. She met John Edwards when they were both law students. They married on July 30, 1977.

The couple had four children: Wade (1979–96), Cate (b. 1982), Emma Claire (b. 1998), and Jack (b. 2000). Wade was killed in April 1996 when he lost control of his Jeep while driving from their home in Raleigh to the family's beach house near Wilmington. Three weeks before his death, Wade Edwards was honored by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House as one of ten finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Voice of America. Wade, accompanied by his parents and his sister, met North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. After Wade died, Helms entered his essay and his obituary into the Congressional Record.

Following Wade's death, the Edwardses decided to have more children, and she underwent fertility treatments; Emma Claire was born when Elizabeth was 48, and Jack was born when she was 50. She was pregnant with Emma Claire during her husband's 1998 Senate race. After John's January 21, 2010 public admission that he fathered a child with another woman, Elizabeth legally separated from him, intending to file for divorce after North Carolina's mandatory one-year separation.

Professional life

Elizabeth began her career as a law clerk for a federal judge, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1978 to become an associate at the law firm of Harwell Barr Martin & Sloan. In 1981, she and her husband moved their family to Raleigh, where she worked in the Office of the Attorney General, and at the law firm Merriman, Nicholls, and Crampton. She used her maiden name professionally until 1996, when she retired from legal practice upon the death of her son and changed her name to Elizabeth Edwards. Much of her time since leaving legal practice was devoted to the administration of the Wade Edwards Foundation. She taught legal writing as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Carolina School of Law and worked as a substitute teacher in the Wake County Public Schools. In August 2009, she opened a furniture store in Chapel Hill.

In September 2006, Random House published her first book, Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers, focusing on the ways in which various communities have helped her through the trials of her life, from her itinerant childhood to the death of her son and her early bout with breast cancer. In May 2009, they published her second book, Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities, further discussing the return of her illness, the deaths of her father and son, the effect of these events on her marriage, her husband's infidelity, and the general state of health care in America. Both books are best-sellers.

Political activity

During much of 2004, Edwards joined her husband and United States Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry on the nationwide campaign trail. She took a similar role in her husband's 2008 presidential bid and was considered one of his closest advisers.

Edwards disagreed with her husband on the topic of same-sex marriage. She became a vocal advocate in 2007 when she stated: "I don't know why someone else’s marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage."

On June 10, 2008, it was revealed that Edwards would be advising her husband's former rival, and eventual Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, on healthcare issues. Her husband also endorsed Obama during the later stages of the 2008 primary season.

Edwards became a senior fellow at the American Progress Action Fund and testified to Congress about health care reform on their behalf.

Illness and death

On November 3, 2004, the day Kerry conceded defeat in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer. She later revealed that she discovered a lump in her breast while on a campaign stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a few weeks earlier, in the midst of the campaign. Edwards became an activist for women's health and cancer patients, and underwent oncology treatments. In a November 2006 comment on the Daily Kos website, Edwards stated that on her last visit, her oncologist said that cancer was not one of the things going on in her life.

At a March 22, 2007 press conference, John and Elizabeth Edwards announced that her cancer had returned, and that his campaign for the Presidency would continue as before. The announcement included the information that she was asymptomatic, and therefore that she expected to be an active part of the campaign. Her doctor, Dr. Lisa Carey of the University of North Carolina's Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, described the diagnosis as stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer with a spot in her rib and possibly her lung. In a March 25 interview on 60 Minutes, Edwards said that there was also a spot in her hip found on her bone scan. The Edwardses and Dr. Carey stressed that the cancer was not curable, but was treatable. In early April 2007, Edwards was informed that her cancer might be treatable with anti-estrogen drugs. "I consider that a good sign. It means there are more medications to which I can expect to be responsive," she told the Associated Press during a campaign stop with her husband in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In a 2007 Interview with Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, she said, "When I was first diagnosed, I was going to beat this. I was going to be the champion of cancer. And I don't have that feeling now. The cancer will eventually kill me. It's going to win this fight."

On December 6, 2010, Edwards's family announced that she had stopped cancer treatment after her doctors advised her that further treatment would be unproductive, the cancer having metastasized to her liver. She had been advised she had several weeks to live. Her family members, including her estranged husband John, were with her. She posted her last message on Facebook:

You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human.

But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

Edwards died of metastatic breast cancer on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, at home in Chapel Hill, surrounded by friends and family.

Funeral

Elizabeth Edwards' funeral will be held at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, December 11th. Westboro Baptist Church has declared they will protest at the funeral, because of their disapproval of Edwards' beliefs.

References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (2010-12-07). "Lived her private pain on a public stage". Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
  2. Yahoo News article: "Elizabeth Edwards Supported Gay Marriage and Equality."
  3. "Elizabeth Edwards says she's separated from John". USA Today. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. Thursby, Keith (7 December 2010). "Obituary: Elizabeth Edwards dies at 61; wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  5. Saving Graces, page 165-166.
  6. Saving Graces, page 27.
  7. Resilience, page 174.
  8. Baker, Mike (7 December 2010). "Elizabeth Edwards dies". Associated Press via WSLS-10TV. Retrieved 10 December 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. Four trials, by John Edwards, John Auchard. Google Books
  10. In a New Book, Elizabeth Edwards Reveals Her Pain Over the Affair—and That Her Cancer Has Spread People.
  11. "Edwards' bittersweet history: Kerry's choice comes with a rags-to-riches story that's marked by tragedy". Chicago Tribune. 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  12. "LUCIUS WADE EDWARDS JULY 18, 1979 – APRIL 4, 1996". Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  13. Mcfadden, Robert D. (8 December 2010). "Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer at 61". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  14. Myers, Lisa; Austin, Michael (January 21, 2010). "Edwards admits fathering child with mistress". NBC News. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  15. Cowan, Richard; Holland, Steve (January 27, 2010). "Politician John Edwards and wife separate". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  16. "Elizabeth Edwards tells her sister: 'I've had it.'". USA Today. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  17. "Edwards Admits Fathering Love Child, Reportedly Separates From Wife". Fox News. 2010-01-21.
  18. Ms. Magazine | Elizabeth Edwards, The Strategist
  19. Wade Edwards Foundation website
  20. "Edwards opens furniture store: Elizabeth Edwards is now a business owner". Chapel Hill, NC: abc11.com. August 23, 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  21. Edwards,Elizabeth (2006). Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers. Random House. ISBN 978-0-7679-2537-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  22. Edwards, Elizabeth (2009). Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities. Random House. ISBN 978-0-7679-3136-6.
  23. Martelle, Scott (2009-05-08). "'Resilience' by Elizabeth Edwards". The Los Angeles Times.
  24. Hitchens, Christopher (September 2009). "The Pain of Elizabeth Edwards". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  25. Elizabeth Edwards strays on gay marriage – John Edwards News – MSNBC.com
  26. TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Obama Says He's Partnering With Elizabeth Edwards On Health Care
  27. "On the Hill, Elizabeth Edwards Calls Attention to Medical Bankruptcies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  28. "Edwards posting". Daily Kos blog. November 20, 2006.
  29. ^ "Transcript of Former Sen. Edwards News Conference on Wife's Health". Washington Post. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  30. Pickler, Nedra (2007-03-22). "Edwards presses on with 2008 campaign". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  31. Couric, Katie (2007-03-25). "Exclusive:John and Elizabeth Edwards, Edwards Open About Cancer, Unconditional About Couple's Decision On Presidential Run". 60 Minutes. CBS. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  32. Jill Lawrence and, Rita Rubin (2007-03-22). "For Elizabeth Edwards, a public battle for her life". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  33. "Elizabeth Edwards Gets a 'Good Sign'". People. April 4, 2007.
  34. Alter, Jonathan (9 April 2007). "Elizabeth Edwards: 'I'm Not Praying for God to Save Me'". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  35. "Elizabeth Edwards stops cancer treatment, releases statement". CNN. December 6, 2010.
  36. "Elizabeth Edwards dies". WRAL News. December 7, 2010.

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John Edwards
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Preceded byHadassah Lieberman Wife of the Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
2004 		Succeeded byJill Biden

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