Pioneering musician Ray Charles was one of the first performers of soul music a combination of gospel, jazz, country, and rhythm and blues. Born into poverty to a single mother, he overcame blindness, racism, and the deaths of his brother and mother to play 10,000 concerts and win 12 Grammy Awards over a 58-year career.
I was born and raised in a small town in Virginia. I attended a girls' college, Virginia Intermont, for two years, then went to New York City where I completed my education at NYU, and worked in publishing. I moved to Paris for a year and returned to my publishing career. Vermont, where I met my husband, became my permanent home. I had two children, and set up a freelance editing and writing business.