Charles McCarry wrote several books, served as assistant to the Secretary of Labor in the Eisenhower cabinet, and did two stints in the CIA. What makes him remarkable? He almost wasn’t born.
McCarry said, “My mother became pregnant with me at the age of 39. She had nearly died while giving birth to my only sibling. Her doctor, who believed the second pregnancy was a serious threat to her life, advised an abortion. The advice made sense, but my mother refused to accept it. Just before she died at age 97, I asked her why. She replied, “I wanted to see who you were going to turn out to be.”