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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Winner of the WordWeaving Award of Excellence, October 17, 2001
Author Julie Shaw Cole creates a painful, joyful, enthralling journey toward self-discovery in GETTING LIFE. Told from the first person point of view, she draws the reader deeply into the horrific and frustrating world of nursing home care, seen through the eyes of thirty-five-year-old Emily Mason. Emily spends seventeen years in a wheel chair, watching the play of light on rooftops seen through the window of the nursing home.When her mother died in an accident, Emily went to live with a tender uncle and an abusive aunt. When these relatives die, Emily comes to live at the nursing home. Her life seemed to be characterized by abuse and neglect, as the people around her assume that because she cannot speak she cannot think. When a devastating accident results in a hospital stay, Emily meets Dr. West, a woman who will change her life. For the first time, someone speaks to her, rather around her or about her. For the first time, her humanity is recognized. It takes three years and remarkable discipline for Emily to free herself from the nursing home. As she struggles to communicate, to read, to become mobile, and to learn the skills she needs to live independently, her lessons become lessons for the reader about the strength of the human spirit and the weakness of human perception. She confesses her own prejudices and fears, thereby forcing readers to reevaluate themselves. Indeed, readers will find their most basic assumptions challenged; from the accessibility of sidewalks to the way we see those who are different from ourselves. A must read for all caring human beings, GETTING LIFE comes very highly recommended.
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