Gifted Hands

The story is about a doctor who got into a lot of trouble when he was young. His mother is Sonya Carson who married at thirteen. When Ben was young he got in trouble with his family and peers, one time he hit a boy head with a rock because he called him stupid. After Ben brought home an unsatisfactory report card in fifth grade, she made house rules to enable the boys to become better students. She restricted their television viewing to two programs per week. They were required to visit the library each week

and to pick two books to read. Then, Curtis and Ben needed to write a

book report for each book that was read. Afterward, the boys were

required to hand in their book reports to their mother. Carson insisted

on the book reports, library visits, and restricted television viewing

because "... they were not living up to their potential."

Her perseverance in their education paid off. Ben Carson's grades

began