Kelly, Linda Armstrong 1955(?)–

PERSONAL: Born c. 1955; married Ed Kelly (previously married and divorced three times); children: Lance Armstrong.

ADDRESSES: Home—TX. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Thorndike Press, 295 Kennedy Dr., Waterville, ME 04901.

CAREER: Public speaker, writer, and fund-raising consultant. Worked for fifteen years at Ericsson Microelectronics as a global account manager. Works with numerous organizations focusing on children, cancer, other fundraising activities. Member of board, Richardson Regional Medical Center.

AWARDS, HONORS: Mother of the Year award, Ericsson Microelectronics, 1999.

WRITINGS:

(With Joni Rogers) No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me (memoir), foreword by son, Lance Armstrong, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Linda Armstrong Kelly is the mother of famous cyclist Lance Armstrong, who has won the Tour de France, cycling's most prestigious race, six times. In her memoir, No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me, which Kelly wrote with Joni Rodgers, she recounts growing up poor in Texas, her pregnancy at the age of sixteen and the birth of her son Lance, and the numerous obstacles she faced and overcame as a single mother. "It's very interesting, you'll read in my book I've been married several times," Kelly told Tami Marler in an interview posted on Tulsa, Oklahoma's KOTV Web site. "I am an overachiever in that area. Married, divorced, married, divorced. But for all intents and purposes, I was a single parent."

Although Kelly writes extensively about her relationship with her son, the book focuses primarily on her own life. When she had her unplanned pregnancy, she was a junior in high school. Lance's biological father married her, but showed little inclination to take on the responsibility of raising a family and soon was out of their lives. Kelly worked hard to support her and her son, sometimes holding two and even three jobs. Although she was bright in school and had good grades, she struggled through menial jobs and as a secretary before finally landing a job with a telecommunications company and rising to an executive-level position. Her choice of husbands continued to be poor: husband number two was a womanizer and number three an alcoholic. It was not until Lance established himself as a world-class cyclist that she found husband number four, who proved to be a responsible man.

Kelly also writes about her relationship with son Lance and how she tried to instill in him the never-quit attitude he used so successfully in racing as well as in his victorious battle against testicular cancer when he was only twenty-five years old. Throughout the book, she stresses that her positive attitude often kept her going. In fact, Armstrong never realized how poor they really were until he read his mother's book. "I was shocked," he was quoted as saying in a USA Today article by Sal Ruibal. "The level of poverty, how there was so little of everything, even food. But we never talked about it. She never complained."

In a review of No Mountain High Enough in Publishers Weekly, a contributor noted that "Kelly relates their trials … in a winningly homey and self-teasing manner." The reviewer added: "This is a sincerely heartwarming tale, laced with true Texas grit." Alan Moores, writing in Booklist, noted that the book "reveals the force behind the six-time (and counting) Tour de France champion." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the memoir "occasionally clichéd, occasionally maudlin, but, overall, candid, thoughtful, and compelling." Writing on the Bookreporter.com, Barbara Bamberger Scott commented, "This is a believable story of the power behind the throne of victory, because Lance Armstrong undoubtedly is made of tough stuff, and it had to have come from somewhere. Linda's story will inspire moms and perhaps help some other lonely mother to let some other kid go the extra mile."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Kelly, Linda Armstrong, and Joni Rogers, No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2005.

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, September 5, 2003, Greta Van Susteren, transcript of interview with Armstrong.

Booklist, February 1, 2005, Alan Moores, review of No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me, p. 929.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005, review of No Mountain High Enough, p. 102.

Library Journal, September 1, 2004, Barbara Hoffert, review of No Mountain High Enough, p. 90.

Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005, review of No Mountain High Enough, p. 62.

Texas Monthly, September, 2003, "Big as Dallas: A Salute to the Men and Women Who Stand Tall in the Corporate and Community Life of Dallas," p. 171.

USA Today, April 4, 2005, Sal Ruibal, "For Mom, 'Raising Lance' Was a Hard Climb," p. C13.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (July 7, 2005), Barbara Bamberger Scott, review of No Mountain High Enough.

KOTV Web site (Tulsa, OK), http://www.kotv.com/ (July 7, 2005), Tami Marler, "Lance Armstrong's Mom in Tulsa to Promote New Book."

Linda Armstrong Kelly Home Page, http://www.lindaarmstrong.com (July 7, 2005).

PEZ Cycling News Online, http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/ (April 5, 2005), Richard Pestes, "Linda Armstrong Kelly: The PEZ Interview."