Senators Wife Pens Memoir

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Berlean Miller Burris, Ph. D, wife of former U.S. Senator Roland Burris, Sr. has written a book as a testimony to her faith in God.
Berlean Miller Burris, Ph. D, wife of former U.S. Senator Roland Burris, Sr. has written a book as a testimony to her faith in God.

by Thelma Sardin

Berlean Miller Burris, Ph.D., wife of former U.S. Senator Roland W. Burris, Sr. has written a book about her unwavering faith. Titled, Just Stand: Gods Faithfulness Never Fails, the paperback explores the resilience of spirituality, family and the importance of education.

A native of Mississippi, she takes readers on a spiritual journey from her childhood on a farm in the deep South to becoming the wife of a noted political figure.

As the youngest of thirteen children, the Senators wife says her childhood was very different from kids today. She did not have television or other technological luxuries that keep youth occupied. As a result, she became an avid reader. She says the ability to read proved beneficial for her academic career and has earned her degrees from Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago and Moody Theological Seminary.

According to the devout Christian, God has been a part of her life since birth. I accepted Christ at an early age. I remember praying as a child, she said.

An accomplished nurse, Burris also has had a distinguished career in theological education. She says nursing and theology are very similar, adding nursing is the practice of physical healing and theology is the practice of spiritual healing.

Burris said it was faith that shielded her family during a scandal following her husbands appointment to the United States Senate in 2008.

In 2008, Roland W. Burris was appointed to the United States Senate by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was later impeached, removed from office and arrested on federal corruption charges alleging that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. In June 2011, Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 out of 20 counts which included an attempt to sell or trade President Obamas old U.S. Senate seat.

A former states comptroller and attorney general, Burris had been accused of perjury in connection with his testimony on Blagojevich's then alleged "pay for play" scheme to fill the Senate seat. After a thorough investigation, Burris was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Senate Ethics Committee and Sangamon County states attorney. He decided not to run for a full six-year term in 2010.

The former Senators wife decided to write the book after she retired as a professor at Moody Theological Seminary. The text is a story composed of journal entries and biblical scriptures. She began journaling once her husband began to face turmoil upon accepting the Senate appointment. Just Stand is a product of her feelings from that time and reflections from her life.

I realize how faithful God had been to us in that situation, she said. In addition, Burris also used the book as a platform to share her side of the scandal.

The Burris family prayed and read scripture throughout the ordeal, she says. Our faith was [the] anchor that pulled us through this, she added.

When asked if Just Stand has a universal theme, Burris replied, The title itself is what I want readers to take away. Were always going to have challenges in this life [but] we must trust God to see it through.

Just Stand cites several biblical scriptures; however, Burris says her favorite is Proverbs 3:5-6.

To be able to have your path directed by God you can be sure you are going in the right direction, she said of the scripture.

The wife, mother and grandmother says she just wants readers to be uplifted by her story.

We think we know so much but in the whole scheme of things, we know very little. God is all knowing, she stated.

She added, her husband plans to publish his own book, a story she says will go into detail about the ordeal from the former Senators viewpoint.

My book just sort of gives an overview but his book is going to be many, many more pages than my book and its going to be incredible, said Burris about her husbands future memoir.

The memoir will be a chance for Sen. Burris to tell his side of the story which his wife believes was missing from mainstream media.

In addition, Burris says many people believe the former Senator bared the brunt of the dislike many people had for Blagojevich. As a result, the appointment became a spectacle which was splashed across headlines and television screens. She added that the intense media scrutiny Sen. Burris received was not so much directed towards him, but was a byproduct of hatred for Blagojevich.

Thats what some people think. It was not so much against my husband it was against who appointed him," Burris said.

To purchase a copy of Burris book log on to www.burrisent.com

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