Download or read book My Imagination and Art Have Sustained written by M.J. O'Brien and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2012-02-18 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I was born illegitimate, with eye sight problems. I was adopted from a Catholic infant home. Because of the constant early separations that resulted from being bounced back and forth between the infant home, and my home, I developed emotional problems. My insecure, volatile, mother reacted badly to my problems. She often abused me, physically, and verbally. My father, a timid, man, who adored his wife, offered me very little support. By the time I was seven I embarked on a path that would take me from one institution to another, occasionally spending several months at home, which made me worse. The authorities didnt know what went on in the home, but they did know that a visually impaired, run away made them nervous. When I was twelve I was diagnosed as semi autistic. Because of this and my compulsion to run away, I wound up in a very controversial treatment center in Maine. Then at age seventeen my life began to improve. I was enrolled in the Perkins School for the blind in Massachusetts. I fell in love with the school, and wanted to spend a long time there. However, Perkins was seen as a finishing school for me. After two years I reluctantly graduated, and entered the world totally unprepared for what life had to offer. It wasnt until I was in my forties that I followed through on something I had always wondered about. My adoption records were opened, allowing me to learn many things about my birth mother, and family. Together with the few details my adopted father gave me, I was able to make contact with my family.