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Tammy Faye would not have agreed to appear on the Larry King show unless she wanted to. It gave her one more opportunity to share her faith, and that was her deepest desire.

I think that Tammy Faye was grossly misunderstood by the public. She has been judged by her outer appearance rather than her inward spirit. I have to admit, my first impression of this woman was negative. "Good grief, look at all that make-up," I commented to my husband. "What a phony."

After the scandal of the PTL club, or as I called it, pass the loot club, I figured I had Tammy pegged; she was a phony.

Sometime later, she wrote a book about her life. The old saying, "You can't tell a book by its cover," certainly was true in her case. I felt guilty for judging her so harshly. She was anything but a phony.

This woman was selfless in her love for others. She was a champion for the underdog. She always looked for the best in people. If she did have a fault, it was her misplaced loyalty in her husband, Jim, and her belief in what she thought he stood for.

I believe the reason many people shunned Tammy was because she was so forthright and truthful. That makes people uncomfortable. She called it the way she saw it regardless of the negative fallout she might receive.

I loved the way Tammy talked about her make-up. In her book she explained that even as a child she was "taken" by false eye lashes and considered them an essential part of her wardrobe.

I admire Tammy for appearing on the Larry King show. Most of us, if we looked as emaciated as she did, would hide in a closet. But the public was her family. For better or for worse, she shared all of her journey with them.

Learn more about this author, Carol Gustke.
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