In the memoir Nine Ms and a Mother Like No Other, Martial Bednar brings warmth, wit, and insight to this entertaining narrative about his family and their trials and triumphs as they survive a messy divorce, cross-country road trips in broken down jitneys, several siblings split into foster homes, and life-threatening medical experiences … and in the end, still consider themselves blessed. Told with candor and humor from the “kid brother’s” unique perspective, Bednar begins with a colorful description of his mother Peggy—an heiress whose husband walked out after twenty years of marriage and nine children—who became a desperate housewife long before it was in vogue. As he chronicles his jaw-dropping childhood adventures, Bednar also introduces his siblings (the nine Ms) and shares the inspirational story of his brother Merrick, a priest-in-the-making whose profound health crises not only strengthen his own faith, but also the fabric of his entire family. This true story—often hysterical, at times heartbreaking—gives testimony to the inseparable bonds of family, the incredible power of perseverance and prayer, and the life-sustaining gifts of faith, hope, and love.

PREFACE Every family has a story to tell, and mine is no exception. No, we Bednars aren’t Kennedy famous, and we’re certainly not Rockefeller rich. We don’t sing like the Osmonds, dance like the Jacksons, or even star in our own reality TV show like the Osbournes once did. In fact, our talents have never won any of us an Oscar, a Pulitzer, a Nobel Peace Prize, or heck, even a Rotary Club award, and our scandals – thank God – have never caused the paparazzi to hide in the bushes and pounce as soon as we step out the front door. Look closely at my family today and you’d be hard pressed to believe for a New York minute that behind our starched collars, shiny Nissans, and manicured lawns that we could possibly have any story worth telling at all. That’s why most people will find it hard to believe that the story they’re about to read could possibly be true – especially if they’ve come to know me or anyone in my family in more recent (what I’ll call the more “normal”) years. But truth, they say, is stranger than fiction, and the journey you’re about to embark on down Bednar Boulevard is proof of that. So what is so noteworthy about this family of mine? I assure you, it’s not just the novelty that we could literally be our own baseball team – yes, there are nine of us kids – or that our names all begin with the letter “M.” (But that adds a nice layer of icing to the cake, I must say.) Can there really be smoldering secrets, over-the-top escapades, or salacious storylines about the path to adulthood that molded common, everyday people: school teachers, business folk, a PR guy, and, heck, even a priest?! (Surely, not enough to possibly warrant writing a whole book, right?!) Can a buttoned-down family as seemingly all-American as the Cleavers or the Brady’s – a close-knit clan who, as adults, actually look forward to family get-togethers, frequently call each other just to say “hi,” and even attend weekly Mass by their own choosing (well, most of the time) – have anything other than a bunch of warm fuzzies to share? Ironically, it’s precisely because we now do share “warm fuzzies” with each other – and the fact that we are a “normal” (as normal as any person or family can be, I guess), well-adjusted, self-assured, pretty likeable, relatively successful, and fairly sane bunch of siblings – that the Bednar story is one well worth telling. Indeed, our chirpy little attitudes, successes, and lives (as traditional, suburban, and mundane as they now appear on the outside) were molded out of an absurd assortment of bizarre, against-the-odds, and downright unbelievable circumstances that few individuals or families could – or do – survive. Yet miraculously, the Bednars not only survived. We thrived.

The eighth of nine children, Martial Bednar is a communications professional, avid writer, and family-loving guy born and raised in western New York. Behind his mild-mannered exterior and very “ordinary” adult life lies an extraordinary family story and upbringing that even he sometimes finds hard to believe.