Ben Carson Audiobook Quotes

“How would you like to come to the science room after school and help feed the fish and the lizard? While you’re there, we could look at obsidian under the microscope.” Ben loved doing after-school chores in the science lab, and he was especially fascinated by the microscope. It wasn’t long before he was collecting water samples from a nearby stream and studying them under the microscope. When he thought about his new interest in science, Ben realized it had everything to do with turning off the television and reading books from the library. In fact, he realized that reading those books was helping in every area of his schooling.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“Don’t you think I know what I’m doing here? I’m in rich folks’ houses every single day, and you know what I noticed? They are not wasting their days looking at cartoons on television. No sir, they are busy, busy, busy. And do you know what they are busy doing?” She paused for a moment. “They’re busy reading books—it’s all about books. Rich folks read books. They got whole rooms filled with them—whole libraries in their own homes. Rich folks get where they are going by reading, and you are going to do the same.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“He pointed to a list of times tables in the back of his notebook. “Mrs. Williamson says we need to know them all, but that’s impossible.” As soon as he finished speaking, Ben knew he’d said the wrong thing. “Impossible!” his mother scolded, putting her hands on her hips. “Impossible is not in our vocabulary, Benjamin Solomon Carson. You know that. Nothing is impossible. Look at me. I didn’t go past third grade, and I know all of my times tables up to twelve. How’s that, Bennie?” Ben knew better than to say another word. His mother was out to prove a point. “Impossible! Impossible! We’ll see. You’re going to learn those times tables, Bennie. Starting tomorrow you’re not going to go outside to play after school until you’ve learned them—all of them.” “But Mama . . .” “No buts about it, Bennie. With God’s help you can wipe that im right off the word impossible and make it possible.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

“One by one the Essence Awards honorees were called onto the stage. First went civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, then movie director Spike Lee, followed by comedian Eddie Murphy, and then Dr. Benjamin S. Carson. Ben stood and walked forward to the stage. It was one of the most surreal moments of his life. He wondered how he belonged in the same category as those around him on the stage. It was hard for him to imagine that he, a pediatric neurosurgeon, was being publicly honored along with the most recognizable African American men and women in the country. As he stood onstage, staring out at the crowd, Ben thought about the path his life had taken. Who could have guessed that he, a poor black boy from a single-parent home in Detroit, would end up a brain surgeon? Certainly not those who had considered him the class dummy back in elementary school. Here he was, not just a brain surgeon, but a brain surgeon being honored for the work he had undertaken—experimental surgeries that gave children a chance at life.”
― Janet Benge, Ben Carson: A Chance at Life