By M. Simone Boyd
https://twitter.com/MSimoneBoyd
Many people know that Dr. Ben Carson is a brilliant neurosurgeon. He successfully separated conjoined twins for the first time in history, has performed more than 15,000 surgeries, and that he made waves at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast.
But, few people know that Dr. Carson’s story parallels that of many young, black men. He grew up in a single parent home, struggled with anger, and once tried to stab a classmate.
Dr. Carson credits his turn around as a young man and his success as a surgeon to his mother, Sonya Carson, and wisdom from God. Sonya Carson, one of 24 children, married a preacher and left rural Tennessee at the age of 13 to flee the pain of abuse and poverty. Things were good between her and her husband for a while, but she learned that he was a bootlegger, a possible dope dealer, and had another wife and children.
She divorced her husband and moved to inner-city Boston with her two young sons, Craig and Ben. Sonya had a third grade education and no work experience. And in the book Think Big, Sonya Carson explains that she struggled with depression because leaving her husband was confusing and scary. While in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt, Sonya Carson met a woman that gave her a Bible and convinced her that God loved her. From then on, Sonya committed her life to God and decided she would raise two fine young men on her own.
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