Review of I Know My Way Memoir
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- kittykat6132
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Review of I Know My Way Memoir
I Know My Way Memoir by Theresa Marafito with Linda Odubayo Thompson is a collection of Theresa's life stories as a young girl who grew up with visual impairment. Terry, as her friends call her fondly, was born in 1933 in New York. She had a mentally ill sister and another typical sister. Terry underwent many eye surgeries from a young age, which were unsuccessful as she lives her life with partial vision from one eye. However, Terry made sure that her disability would not make her a social pariah from a young age. She is determined to appear normal, and this makes her grow as an independent, resilient woman.
This memoir is narrated from the first-person perspective, and it is humorous and quite engaging. After Terry joins college, she meets her soulmate, Jerry, who later marries her after graduating. As they begin to build a life together, they discover that learning is not all that one requires to get a job as a visually impaired person. Eventually, they move to the suburbs of Croton, where a whole new life awaits them. It is here that they grow their family, with two daughters Linda and Nance. They lead a happy life which is struck with tragedy many times.
What I loved the most about this memoir was how resilient all the characters appear to be. The biggest lesson that I learned was that life is unfair, and we have to make do with the little we have. Despite being visually impaired, Jerry and Theresa lead happy lives and take care of their families like any ordinary family. It was easy to fall in love with the characters, especially Theresa.
I did not find anything that I could criticize this book with. The memoir is told in a very compelling manner, with all the parts being fluid. It also teaches us various assumptions that people make when they meet visually impaired people. Most people see them as helpless and vulnerable, facts that Theresa disapproved of in her life. Terry's family suffers many tragedies that made me very emotional while reading the memoir. Her grief after losing her husband Jerry is palpable.
I would rate this memoir 4 out of 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I felt honored to have been part of reading about the extraordinary life led by Theresa. I would recommend this book to an audience that enjoys reading memoirs and anyone looking to understand the lives led by visually impaired people.
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I Know My Way Memoir
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- marta baglioni
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