Earlier this week, we stopped by posh eatery, Michaels, for the launch of Tony Cointreau’s latest book, “A Gift of Love – Lessons Learned from My Work and Friendship with Mother Teresa.” This is the second book from the humanitarian. His first release, “Ethel Merman, Mother Teresa … and Me: My Improbable Journey from Chateaux in France to the Slums of Calcutta,” was published in 2014 and told the story of how he wanted more out of life, after years of being on the board of directors at Cointreau and singing for many years.
With the release of his newest book, Cointreau dishes on amazing life lessons he learned while working closely with Mother Teresa for 12 years at NYC AIDS organization, A Gift of Love. Guest at the book launch included Tony’s partner of 50 years, Jim Russo, Mary Higgins Clark, Cece Cord, Francine LeFrak and Rick Friedberg, Julie Hayek, Nancy Pearson, Henri Kessler, JD Thompson, Maria Cooper Janis, Joan Benny, and Eric Bottcher. As guests mingled and congratulated Tony on yet another book, the man of the night thanked guests for attending and spoke candidly about Mother Theresa. He shared how much of a friend she was how it was “scary to be with her in public, as people did not treat her like a human.” He then toasted the late Sister Jean Marshall, who was the Founder of St. Ritas Refugee Center in the Bronx, and “one of the unsung saints of the world because of her work with Vietnamese children displaced by war.”
Highlights from Tony’s journey with the late and great, Mother Teresa includes helping over a hundred people while they went through the process of dying. After many requests from his family and friends to share his experience, Tony decided to write the book of his lovely tales. His overall approach to caregiving for the living as well as for the dying shines through in each chapter.
“A Gift of Love – Lessons Learned from My Work and Friendship with Mother Teresa” is available on Amazon and bookstores.