A Different View

I read “The Doctor Is ‘In’ ” (by Paul Ciotti, Aug. 3) with mixed emotions--pleased that young T. Coraghessan Boyle had done so well, upset with its omissions and misconceptions.

I knew Tom’s mother, Rosemary, for at least 20 years prior to her death, and if she was an alcoholic (as he describes her), she hid it well while holding a most responsible job in the Lakeland School District in suburban New York. If there were rich kids in the area when Tom grew up, they were a handful. The Lakeland district is in Westchester County, but surely Tom must know that the area it encompasses is, for the most part, middle-class and poor.

Whether Rosemary ever expressed herself to her son, I don’t know. But I recall vividly an evening when those present were told how proud she was of both her children’s accomplishments.

Sylvia Roseman

Delray Beach, Fla.