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Grandma Said Book

In Grandma Said, Brinkley lovingly shares her life lessons in forms of short stories from her early childhood. These lessons, taught to her by her late grandmother, Nerisee Spence Kelly, helped to mold Brinkley into the leader she is today.

price $14.95
Grandma Said CD

Grandma Said is not only a read along but also a sing along with a CD recorded by Ruth Brinkley’s sister, Cassandra Gilyard. The CD is designed to accompany the book.

price $12.95
Both the book and CD can be used as teaching tools to assist parents, grandparents, and other loving adults instill character into the lives of their children. You can purchase the Book and CD for a Special Price. Click Here.

price $22.90
Ruth W. Brinkley is a native of Georgia. She attended the University of Chicago, Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, IL. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from DePaul University in Chicago and engaged in doctoral studies at St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO.

Ms. Brinkley has spent her entire career in the health care field and currently holds an executive position in a large not for profit health care system.

Faith is an active part of Ms. Brinkley’s life and she is thankful for all of the things that she has been blessed to experience in her personal and professional life.

Ruth is married and currently splits her time between Chattanooga, TN and Tucson, AZ.

Irma B. Williams, the musician of Grandma Said CD, believes if you want a child to learn something, set it to music. Williams' first book and CD is called Mama Said, the first in the series.

Williams and her husband have over 200 published hymns, Gospel songs, children's songs long with many articles and poems.

Introducing Vocalist of the “Grandma Said” sing along CD… Cassandra Gilyard

Cassandra Gilyard is a St. Louis based vocalist who ministers to audiences across the country with her full, rich and powerfully melodious voice.

Born in Southeast Georgia, Cassandra uses her voice to bring joy, peace, beauty, and the Glory of God into the lives of all those she touches through the ministry of music. She is professionally active in many musical venues in the St. Louis area and has performed in concerts with several nationally renowned gospel recording artists.

Many have commented that Cassandra’s music and vocals move them in such a powerful way that the impact “brings tears to their eyes”!

Cassandra dedicates her voice, her music and her life to the Glory of God.

 

An Unexpected Blessing - Ruth W. Brinkley

The life of a hospital CEO is very full and busy. My days as a CEO in a hospital in the Southeastern United States were no exception. Requests from patients, families, physicians, employees and many other activities fill most days and evenings, leaving little time for anything else. Any unexpected interruption—pleasant or unpleasant—could throw off the schedule for the day, leaving many “important” things uncompleted.

There are moments, however, when something or someone tugs at your heart and “steals” time from all those “important” things you must do. Those are the times when the connection with a patient or family allows you to experience the joy that came when we first entered the healthcare field. Those moments leave you refreshed and fulfilled because in those brief encounters, you remember what is really important in the ministry of healing-- the patients and their needs.

I experienced one of these moments when Irma Williams, a former patient at our hospital called my office. Irma had read an article in one of our publications that described my childhood with my grandmother and she wanted to know if she could talk to me about writing a book about my life. My initial thought was to politely decline the request. I had two reasons: I didn’t have the time, and I could think of no reason why anyone would want to write about my life. In spite of my misgivings, however, I always do my best to respect people in general and particularly, patients who use our hospital; therefore, I invited Irma to come to my office and discuss her ideas with me. At that point, I put the idea out of my mind and went back to my work.

Several weeks later, much to my surprise, Irma showed up in my office ready to begin writing the book. Over the next few years, we not only wrote a book—we were blessed with an unexpected friendship. While we were writing the book, there were many times that Irma’s health care needs and my busy schedule threatened to overwhelm us and derail the entire project. At those times, I doubted that we would complete the book, and though she never said so, I am sure that Irma had some of the same thoughts. Thankfully, we never gave up, and we finally completed “Grandma Said”, and we forged a genuine friendship that lives on to this day. On the surface, others might now expect Irma Williams and Ruth Brinkley to develop such a wonderful and loving friendship. In fact, under “normal circumstances”, we may never have met--we have different backgrounds, and different cultural and life experiences. Yet, God does not look at things the way that we do and He is not constrained by what may seem to be abnormal to us. With Him, all things are possible—even this book! God wants us to take time to experience the wonderful blessings that He wants to bring into our lives—blessings of love, friendship, compassion and joy. Had I not taken a few precious moments to talk to Irma Williams, I would have missed one of the most wonderful friendships of my life.

Thank you, Irma. Your vision for “Grandma Said” and your gift of love and undying friendship have enriched my life beyond measure. You remind me that God has many unexpected blessings that He wants to give us each and every day! I thank God for bringing you into my life.