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Reversals: A Personal Account of Victory over Dyslexia
There was something wrong with my brain. What had previously been a shadowy suspicion that hovered on the edge of consciousness became certain knowledge the year I was nine and entered fourth grade. I seemed to be like other children, but I was not like them; I could not learn to read or spell.
In this first account of what it is like to grow up dyslexic, Eileen Simpson vividly recreates the frightening world of a child living in the limbo of illiteracy. Simpson's lack of reading skills so exasperated her teachers and relatives that they began to think she was mentally retarded. She could get lost walking to the grocery store; at times she felt as if she had no control over her speech. It was not until she was twenty-two that her future husband, the poet John Berryman, finally named her mysterious ailment.
Simpson intersperses her narrative with nontechnical explanations of dyslexia and what is being done to treat it. But despite growing public awareness and advances in research, dyslexia remains a frustrating and frightening disorder.
Eileen Simpson is a psychotherapist and writer whose work includes Poets in Their Youth . She lives in New York City.
In this firsthand account of what it is like to grow up dyslexic, Eileen Simpson vividly re-creates the frightening world of a child living in the limbo of illiteracy. Simpson's lack of reading skills so exasperated her teaches and relatives that they began to think she was mentally retarded. She could get lost walking to the grocery store; at times she felt as if she had no control over her speech. It was not until she was twenty-two that her future husband, the poet John Berryman, finally named her mysterious ailment.
Simpson intersperses her narrative with nontechnical explanations of dyslexia and what is being done to treat it. But despite growing public awareness and advances in research, dyslexia remains a frustrating disorder.
"The estimated 23 million or more dyslexics in this country and those close to them have reason to be grateful to Eileen Simpson."— The New York Times Book Review
"Takes the reader to the heart of an alien condition; reading can offer no richer experience."— Frances Taliaferro, Harper's Magazine
"Essential for libraries with parent guidance collections, and highly recommended for all who have struggled to help children who cannot read."— Library Journal
In this first account of what it is like to grow up dyslexic, Eileen Simpson vividly recreates the frightening world of a child living in the limbo of illiteracy. Simpson's lack of reading skills so exasperated her teachers and relatives that they began to think she was mentally retarded. She could get lost walking to the grocery store; at times she felt as if she had no control over her speech. It was not until she was twenty-two that her future husband, the poet John Berryman, finally named her mysterious ailment.
Simpson intersperses her narrative with nontechnical explanations of dyslexia and what is being done to treat it. But despite growing public awareness and advances in research, dyslexia remains a frustrating and frightening disorder.
Eileen Simpson is a psychotherapist and writer whose work includes Poets in Their Youth . She lives in New York City.
In this firsthand account of what it is like to grow up dyslexic, Eileen Simpson vividly re-creates the frightening world of a child living in the limbo of illiteracy. Simpson's lack of reading skills so exasperated her teaches and relatives that they began to think she was mentally retarded. She could get lost walking to the grocery store; at times she felt as if she had no control over her speech. It was not until she was twenty-two that her future husband, the poet John Berryman, finally named her mysterious ailment.
Simpson intersperses her narrative with nontechnical explanations of dyslexia and what is being done to treat it. But despite growing public awareness and advances in research, dyslexia remains a frustrating disorder.
"The estimated 23 million or more dyslexics in this country and those close to them have reason to be grateful to Eileen Simpson."— The New York Times Book Review
"Takes the reader to the heart of an alien condition; reading can offer no richer experience."— Frances Taliaferro, Harper's Magazine
"Essential for libraries with parent guidance collections, and highly recommended for all who have struggled to help children who cannot read."— Library Journal
- GenresNonfiction
246 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1979
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 28, 2021
Author Eileen Simpson provides an inside-out view of severe, undiagnosed childhood dyslexia. She finally overcame her disability as an adult, achieving academic acclaim. As a former elementary school teacher, I regretted having so little training about how to help such students. They need phonics, not the whole-word approach popular at the time.
March 8, 2015
Eileen Simpson in her memoir, Reversals: A personal Account of Victory Over Dyslexia provides a first-hand account of what it’s like to grow up dyslectic.
Born in 1918, motherless at two, fatherless at six, and brought up at a time when many with learning disabilities were branded mentally retarded, Simpson’s life was tough.
Luckily, she had...
Find out more at: http://www.kathrynvwhite.com/blog/do-...
Born in 1918, motherless at two, fatherless at six, and brought up at a time when many with learning disabilities were branded mentally retarded, Simpson’s life was tough.
Luckily, she had...
Find out more at: http://www.kathrynvwhite.com/blog/do-...
March 30, 2008
The author is an amazing woman. She wrote beautifully about her struggles. What I loved most about this book was that it gave me some good advice to use with some of my students. But even if you don't need it for that, it's a great story of a woman who overcomes her obstacles.
September 17, 2014
It is bringing bakc memories of my own learning experience. I couldn't read in second grade either. I remember memorizing the new books every week when it was read out loud so I wouldn't look stupid. I would even know when to turn the page from the one reading. I always felt so stupid.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews