Mary

Janis Cooke Newman reads a selection from her novel Mary, Mary Todd Lincoln's account of her life. (Running Time: 27:39)

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Writing from Bellevue asylum -- where the shrieks of the other inmates keep her awake at night -- a famous widow can finally share the story of her life in her own words. From her tempestuous childhood in a slave-holding Southern family through the opium-clouded years after her husband's death, we are let into the inner, intimate world of this brave and fascinating woman. An engrossing mix of fact and fiction, and a dramatic tale filled with passion and depression, poverty and ridicule, infidelity and redemption, this is the story of Mary Todd Lincoln.

About the Author:

Janis Cooke Newman: Janis Cooke Newman is the author of the memoir, The Russian Word for Snow, which was published in the U.S., Germany, and Australia. Her travel writing has appeared in publications such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, and Salon. She lives in Northern California, where she teaches writing classes for adults and teens at the renowned independent bookseller, Book Passage.