"The AIDS virus is not a political creature. It does not care whether you are Democrat or Republican. It does not ask whether you are Black or White, male or female, gay or straight, young or old. Tonight I represent an AIDS community whose members have been reluctantly drafted from every segment of American society. Though I am White, and a mother, I am one with a Black infant struggling with tubes in a Philadelphia hospital. Though I am female, and contracted this disease in marriage, and enjoy the warm support of my family, I am one with the lonely gay man sheltering a flickering candle from the cold wind of his family's rejection."So said Mary Fisher in her historic speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. My Name Is Mary chronicles the emotional events leading up to and following this momentous evening. In a memoir that exhibits the same grace and unflinching honesty that moved the nation, Mary Fisher shares the story of her life. Here for the first time Fisher talks about her experiences as a child of divorce, as the daughter of an alcoholic family, and of her own alcoholism. Mary was adept at being the bright, beautiful, perfect child, which armed her for her stint as the first woman "advanceman" in the White House and for the job of television producer, but which made the admission that she needed help with her own alcohol abuse even more difficult. As the adopted daughter of Max Fisher, one of the country's most influential men, Mary traveled easily in the highest social circles. But this label of rich, White Republican woman was to be another obstacle to overcome in her battle to fight AIDS, both personally and publicly.Raised in a socially prominent, affluent Michigan family, Mary Fisher seemed to have it all. She socialized with important and often famous friends and eventually married a handsome artist with whom she had two sons. Although the marriage ended in divorce, Mary continued to thrive in her roles as mother and artist. However, in 1991 Mary's world was turned upside down by the news from her ex-husband that he had AIDS. An HIV test revealed that Mary, too, was infected. Terrified, struggling against fear, depression, and anger, Mary ultimately found a new life mission in her positive status - she began to educate others about the need for compassion and activism in the face of this epidemic. Her unspoken motto is powerful - one person can, indeed, make a difference. Read Less