Paper Dollhouse

By Lisa Masterson

In this book, Dr. Lisa Masterson--star of the hit daytime show "The Doctors"--focuses on the life-altering work she does as hands-on head of a foundation called Maternal Fetal Care International, through which she's established clinics in India and Africa devoted to helping ensure that mothers and babies survive in regions where resources are few and maternal mortality is high. Here her fans, along with the broader universe of readers drawn to the pathbreaking stories of role models like this accomplished woman of color, will discover the vulnerable and very human side of the TV doc, and the inspiring journey that has allowed her to become an advocate for so many. Her book traces her inspiring life, moving back and forth between her current work and her upbringing--how her resourceful and resiliant single mother broake away from family in the segregated South to find new opportunities. Dr. Masterson's mother is a woman of beauty and accomplishment, as her daughter will be, but in those early years, the two of them face discrimination, financial challenges and tumult, moving every few months to avoid paying rent so there will be enough money for what's most important--the child's education.

ContentsIntroductionOne: You and Me against the WorldTwo: Girl AloneThree: Always MovingFour: Wonder Woman Five: Moods and Secrets Six: Angel with a BriefcaseSeven: BetrayalEight: A Trap Door into MedicineNine: HaynesvilleTen: Love Eleven: LiftoffTwelve: MeltdownThirteen: Cheap TricksFourteen: Spiraling Up, Spiraling DownFifteen: ProposalSixteen: Anatomy, and a WeddingSeventeen: CrashingEighteen: LuckNineteen: CountyTwenty: The PrizeTwenty-one: Life-and-Death SituationsTwenty-two: Without HerTwenty-three: Call Me Dr. MastersonTwenty-four: "I Love Lucy" Twenty-five: Butterflies and OprahTwenty-six: Daniel's MomTwenty-seven: OpportunityTwenty-eight: CharityTwenty-nine: Diary of a Relief Trip, Eritrea, 2007Thirty: The DoctorsThirty-one: Blessings