Like Other People

About the Book

In October 1975, Eleanora Gambino was working on her master’s degree in special education at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut. One of the classes that she was taking was a course on cerebral palsy. One night, a documentary entitled “Like Other People” was shown. It was about two young people who had cerebral palsy and were planning to get married. Eleanora was newly engaged to be married to a man who has cerebral palsy. Eleanora was born with cerebral palsy. She identified with many of the experiences the couple in the documentary was being subjected to. At the end of the documentary, the professor asked individuals what they thought of the documentary. One member of the class always arrived late and would sit near the door. He was a speech therapist. Eleanora always arrived early and would sit near the windows in front of the room. He never observed Eleanora walking. At that time, she walked with the classic scissors cerebral palsy gait. When the professor asked the speech therapist what he thought of the documentary, he replied, “The documentary is unrealistic. Disabled people are too involved in themselves. They cannot love.”

About the Author

Eleanora has written poetry most of her life. Her poetry has reached out to many people throughout the years. ôLike Other Peopleö has been published many times in magazines, newsletters, and on the Internet. It was also translated into Norwegian and published in Oslo, Norway. It was published in several countries including Russia, India, and Japan. Several poems in this book were published on the Internet when Eleanora had a website entitled ôThe Godmother.ö The poem ôThere Is a Place Where You Are Not Aloneö was published in an anthology entitled ôA Whispering Silenceö as well as online, magazines, and newsletters.