Mary Alice Kemery, popularly known as Linda Goodman (April 9, 1925 – October 21, 1995), was a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestselling American
astrologer and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
. She wrote the first astrology book to make the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list.
Early life and background
Linda Goodman was born in
Morgantown, West Virginia. Although she never revealed her year of birth, swearing even her father to silence, it emerged posthumously that she was born in 1925. According to data collector Frank C. Clifford, Linda was born in Morgantown on April 9, 1925, at 6:05 a.m. Clifford cites Linda's birth certificate as his source. Her father's name was Robert Stratton Kemery; her mother's maiden name was Mazie McBee. By her own account, Goodman was born in her maternal grandparents' house on 115 Kingwood Street. She attended and graduated from
Parkersburg High School
Parkersburg High School (PHS) is a secondary school located in Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States, that serves grades nine through twelve and is part of the Wood County School District. As of the 2018-2019 West Virginia Secondary School ...
in 1943 aged 18 years.
Career
Linda Goodman assumed the name 'Linda' during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
for a popular
WCOM radio show in Parkersburg that she hosted called ''Love Letters from Linda''. Each show consisted of her reading letters written between soldiers and their loved ones. Each letter was punctuated with a popular song of the day. While working in radio, she met her second husband, Sam O. Goodman, and took his last name.
She began her career writing for newspapers in the eastern and southeastern United States. She also wrote speeches for black American
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
leader
Whitney Young
Whitney Moore Young Jr. (July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971) was an American civil rights leader. Trained as a social worker, he spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban ...
, who served for several years as president of the
National Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
.
Astrology/writings
Some have suggested that Linda Goodman was responsible for accelerating the growth of the
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
movement through the unprecedented success of her first
astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
book ''Linda Goodman's Sun Signs'' (1968). This was the first astrology book ever to earn a spot on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list.
It was followed by ''Linda Goodman's Love Signs'' (1978), which also made the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and set an industry record with $2.3 million being paid for the paperback rights.
Other books by Linda Goodman include:
*''Venus Trines at Midnight'' (1970)
*''Linda Goodman's Love Signs'' (1978)
*''Linda Goodman's Love Poems'' (1980)
*''Linda Goodman's Star Signs: The Secret Codes of the Universe'' A Practical Guide for the New Age (1987)
*''Gooberz'' (1989)
*''Linda Goodman's Relationship Signs'' (1998)
''
Gooberz'', begun in 1967, is a long poem riddled with myriad
occult references and
symbolism. It is also a thinly veiled
autobiography, which explores two of her significant romantic relationships: her marriage to William Snyder and her love affair with marine biologist Robert Brewer. It also touches on the births of her four children: Sally Snyder, Bill Snyder, Jill Goodman and Michael Goodman. The book surveys her ideas on
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...
,
karma
Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
,
love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...
, and
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
s.
Personal life
Goodman was mother to four children: Sally and William (Bill) Snyder from her first marriage, and Jill and Michael Goodman from her second marriage. She also had at least one other child, a daughter who died in infancy.
Daughter
Linda Goodman's books also reference what she referred to as the "disappearance" of her eldest daughter, Sally Snyder, in the 1970s, and the mystery around her reported death. Goodman spent much money and many years trying to find Sally, long after police closed the case as a suicide or accidental suicide. Goodman never accepted the official police report and continued to search for Sally for the rest of her own life. Finally, she believed that her daughter was dead but would return by reincarnation.
Death
Goodman made
Cripple Creek, Colorado
Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...
, her home during the latter part of her life. She first lived in a small Victorian house on Carr Street ("the little crooked house on the crooked little street") and later moved to a newer home on the outskirts of the main town. Both homes still boast her spiritually themed stained-glass windows. The house on Carr Street is now a
bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
. She died in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, on October 21, 1995, at the age of 70, from complications of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
.
Crystal Bush, a businesswoman from Ireland, befriended Goodman at the end of her life and obtained the publicity rights to the astrologer's name at her death. Bush then published the book ''Linda Goodman's Relationship Signs''.
Notes
References
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External links
"Spiritual pioneer Linda Goodman sought the secrets of life from more than just the stars"Linda-Goodman.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Linda
1925 births
1995 deaths
20th-century astrologers
American astrologers
American astrological writers
New Age spiritual leaders
American radio personalities
American speechwriters
Deaths from diabetes
New Age writers
Parkersburg High School alumni
Writers from Colorado Springs, Colorado
People from Morgantown, West Virginia
People from Parkersburg, West Virginia
Writers from West Virginia
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
People from Cripple Creek, Colorado
American women non-fiction writers
Palmists