Mother Dear: The Life and Times of Nettie Mariah Ford Gethers is divided into three parts: The Memoir, The Interview, and The Obituary. The memoir and the interview are previously unpublished family history documents rendered in the words of my mother, Nettie Mariah Ford Gethers, aka Mother Dear. In the interest of authenticity, I have retained Mother Dear's words as written in the memoir and as spoken in the interview.

I had always thought I would someday publish Mother Dear's memoir and interview together under a single title. Upon completing my book I Come from Bowman Lane: A Family History Memoir, I realized how frequently I had cited Mother Dear's words. It was then that I decided to publish the memoir and the interview as a companion to I Come from Bowman Lane. The result, with the addition of an obituary, is this book.

My mother lived from February 8, 1925 to September 3, 2015. Her long life, which began on a "one–mule dirt farm" in Colleton County, South Carolina, was marked by much hardship in her youth. While she had limited formal education, her deep faith, her love for her family, her commitment to hard work, and her lifetime habit of reading enriched her life and sustained her to the end.

The stories in Mother Dear demonstrate one of the main themes of I Come from Bowman Lane: Everyday ordinary people often have extraordinary stories to tell. Perhaps Mother Dear will inspire you to gather and preserve some of the extraordinary stories that abound in your own family.

Margaret Ann Gethers Scott

April 2023

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