Last words of his mother, and Tweeting the moment, inspires Scott Simon's new book

In her final days, Scott Simon's mother related wisdom that resonated not only with him but also with many people who followed his recounting of the moment on Twitter.

Simon, an NPR correspondent, appeared at a May 5 National Press Club Book Rap to promote his latest book, "Unforgettable, A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime." He gave the audience a glimpse into his early family life and what meaningful tenets his mother had passed on to him.

He spent 48 hours in the intensive care unit with his 84-year-old mother, who lay dying from cancer.

“I sent out some 30 to 35 tweets that ended up all over the world,” Simon said.

They struck a chord, as they contained lasting memories exchanged between him and his mother in her final moments. Simon's Twitter followers could identify with experiences in his family life, and the response, he said, gave him the idea for the book.

He related anecdotes that showed his mother, Patricia Lyons Simon Newman, to be a strong person who had a sense of humor, especially among her friends and his aunts.

She went through three marriages, the first with Simon’s father, who died when Simon was 16 years old.

“He had a serious drinking problem,” Simon said. “My father regarded death as preference to the pain he could cause our family with his lifetime of drinking.”

Through all of this, he said, “My mother was funny.”

He related stories about his mother entertaining a Chicago politician who dressed up like Uncle Sam, spraying Simon's aunts with dental spray and going to the police station, where his aunts had been taken when caught driving without a license.

“They were surrounded by bluecoats, as if having a party,” Simon said.

During the time of year that Simon referred to as Christmas/Hannukah, his mother put a menorah on the table surrounded by little Virgin Mary dolls. She explained that it was very decorative.

“Her circle of friends made [me] know what friendships meant,” Simon said.

As the time waned in the ICU, she talked about a number of issues: boyfriends, suicide and how she “sucked every last second out of life,” Simon said.

The uncertainty of death can provide incentive for people to live life to the fullest.

Her final piece of advice was to have the ability to “forget,” or not let the bad things in life keep you down. It was her life and its affect on Simon that was unforgettable.