New book "Walter J. Edwards: Wired for Life" published

A wonderful new book has been published about my double uncle, Walter Edwards.  The book is written by Walter's wife, Ruby Odum Edwards, and his daughter, Jami Edwards Hall.  Walter was my mother's brother.  Ruby was my father's sister.  Jami and I share all the same relatives.

Walter was a remarkable man.  I knew that but I had forgotten or never knew many of his more notable accomplishments.  I was only 19 when I married and moved away from home in 1971.  Unfortunately, Walter died in 1987 at the age of 62.  As an adult, I missed the opportunity of really getting to know Walter.  On my brief visits to Nashville, I was busy visiting my own parents.  This book filled in some of the years I missed due to the miles between us.

My 14 year old grandson is obsessed with sports heroes.  I explained Walter's personality to him as being part Bo Jackson and part Forrest Gump with a dose of Bill Gates thrown in for business acumen.  You just can't believe some of the things he did or attempted to do!  Maybe it was seeing his father die at such an early age leaving a young family behind to struggle that gave him that drive to succeed in everything he did.  Or maybe it was just the way he was wired.


The book has made to think about the Edwards family and how they were wired.  My mom, Walter's sister Gladys, could do anything.  No, really, she could.  One year for Mother's Day my church asked daughters to write something about their mothers to be published in a small pamphlet to be handed out to the congregation.  I wrote a piece entitled, "My Mother Can Do Anything."  I printed it out on fancy paper, framed it and gave it to my mother as a cheap Mother's Day gift that year.  I remember arriving at my parent's house one weekend to find my mother assembling a floor lamp from parts saved from other lamps.  She was in her early 70's and her hands trembled from Parkinson's Disease but that did not stop her from taking bits and pieces that did not work and making them into something that did work.  The silly, little framed gift is now a cherished memento.  My mother was also wired for life.

Gladys and Walter

I think I have inherited the Edward's curse.  I will attempt most anything and when crossed with the Odum's belief that you can do anything you set your mind to do, it produces a driven, type-A personality.  It was not until I had served on the board of directors for
the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce for a number of years that I realized Uncle Walter had been one of the founding members of the Donelson Businessmen's Club.  I still serve on that board and feel proud that one of Walter's family is still committed to bettering our local community.

Walter had a great love of God, family and his fellow man.  That "soft" spot which I have as well tempers some of the hard-driving, sometimes overbearing personality traits.  So many times I have felt as though I was just on the cusp of some great success.  Some big sales deal or opportunity that will make me a "success."  I have to remind myself that true success is not in the amount of money in my checking account but how much I have deposited into the lives of others.  I think that was the way Uncle Walter was wired as well.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of "Wired for Life," send me a comment and I will pass your request along.