In this chapter, the tension begins to build as Mama pushes me to go out into the world, where I will soon meet my mentor. In this first scene, I introduce my friend Tammy (not her real name), who had…
In this chapter, the tension begins to build as Mama pushes me to go out into the world, where I will soon meet my mentor. In this first scene, I introduce my friend Tammy (not her real name), who had…
Mama saw that I had more ability than the school experts thought, and that my learning disability did not make me less intelligent than anyone else. It made learning from text hard. It did not make thinking hard. Her belief…
I continued to struggle with reading, but then something magical happened. Even though the school books remained impervious to my mind, the story books opened for me and led me onto the magic path to learning. Scene 6: Mama reads…
My Mama understood my situation far better than most parents would have in the 1950s. She insisted that I be tested, and sure enough I was diagnosed with dyslexia. We both thought the diagnosis would be more than one small…
As a first-grader, I had no idea why I could not recall what I read. The other kids could. Why couldn’t I? Fortunately, I did not let myself become discouraged, so after some hard times, I did eventually learn to…
When I got into first grade, my Mama quickly discovered that my way of perceiving things was different from what my teachers thought of as normal. She knew I was smart, but she also knew I would need help with…
By the time I began school, I was able to walk, but then a new issue appeared. I could not remember words, so I could not develop the most basic academic skill I would need to succeed as an adult.…
As I warned you, things did get worse, before they got better. In real life, my father did not pass away until I was in my teens, but I put it earlier in the story to show what a struggle…
Today’s scene is very short, but it still means a lot to me. Mama never left my bedside, while I was in the hospital–and I never gave up, when I regained consciousness and went home. Even as a toddler, I…
When I was in college, I published my first novel The Broken Hoof and won a literary award for it. Now, I am completely rewriting it and will soon (I hope) publish it as The Healing Horse. Like the first…