Maria

Where did that come from? Oh, I'm heartbroken. Is this the first time I felt it? Oh, no, I'm not. Let me close my eyes. Let me think about when I was a young girl and I was in a house by myself. And then I just started writing and it just poured out of me.

Where did that come from? Oh, I'm heartbroken. Is this the first time I felt it? Oh, no, I'm not. Let me close my eyes. Let me think about when I was a young girl and I was in a house by myself. And then I just started writing and it just poured out of me.

Where did that come from? Oh, I'm heartbroken. Is this the first time I felt it? Oh, no, I'm not. Let me close my eyes. Let me think about when I was a young girl and I was in a house by myself. And then I just started writing and it just poured out of me.

Well, when I was little, we lived on a farm kind of outside of Washington, D.C., and my mother started the Special Olympics, so she had like 100 people with intellectual disabilities running around in the backyard, along with 100 volunteers and coaches, and then my father would have all these young Peace Corps volunteers who wanted to go out and change the world, and they were running around on any given weekend, and my mother had this camp during the week, and I had

Well, when I was little, we lived on a farm kind of outside of Washington, D.C., and my mother started the Special Olympics, so she had like 100 people with intellectual disabilities running around in the backyard, along with 100 volunteers and coaches, and then my father would have all these young Peace Corps volunteers who wanted to go out and change the world, and they were running around on any given weekend, and my mother had this camp during the week, and I had

Well, when I was little, we lived on a farm kind of outside of Washington, D.C., and my mother started the Special Olympics, so she had like 100 people with intellectual disabilities running around in the backyard, along with 100 volunteers and coaches, and then my father would have all these young Peace Corps volunteers who wanted to go out and change the world, and they were running around on any given weekend, and my mother had this camp during the week, and I had

And I had four brothers and they had like 20 dogs and I was the only girl. I am the only girl. And I was in the middle of all of that. And so I was like, okay, where do I belong in all of this? And I had a horse and I would go and spend my time with the horse because it was the only place that was quiet. It was the only place that I was like, I could hear myself think.

And I had four brothers and they had like 20 dogs and I was the only girl. I am the only girl. And I was in the middle of all of that. And so I was like, okay, where do I belong in all of this? And I had a horse and I would go and spend my time with the horse because it was the only place that was quiet. It was the only place that I was like, I could hear myself think.

And I had four brothers and they had like 20 dogs and I was the only girl. I am the only girl. And I was in the middle of all of that. And so I was like, okay, where do I belong in all of this? And I had a horse and I would go and spend my time with the horse because it was the only place that was quiet. It was the only place that I was like, I could hear myself think.

And I wanted to be a lot like my mother because she was... my role model. Right. But it was chaotic and crazy and tragic. And there was constant upheaval. There were constant people coming in and out of the house. The table was filled with 15, 20 people. There was Mother Teresa, Robert McNamara. There were vice presidents, everybody leaders, world leaders.

And I wanted to be a lot like my mother because she was... my role model. Right. But it was chaotic and crazy and tragic. And there was constant upheaval. There were constant people coming in and out of the house. The table was filled with 15, 20 people. There was Mother Teresa, Robert McNamara. There were vice presidents, everybody leaders, world leaders.

And I wanted to be a lot like my mother because she was... my role model. Right. But it was chaotic and crazy and tragic. And there was constant upheaval. There were constant people coming in and out of the house. The table was filled with 15, 20 people. There was Mother Teresa, Robert McNamara. There were vice presidents, everybody leaders, world leaders.

Yes. And I got the message that, you know, you need to be this. And I, you know, I never dawned on me to question that. I just expected that that's the path that I was going to take. So did you feel loved? I didn't even know what that was. Nobody talked about love in my house. It wasn't a conversation anybody was having. We were talking about we were out to change the world.

Yes. And I got the message that, you know, you need to be this. And I, you know, I never dawned on me to question that. I just expected that that's the path that I was going to take. So did you feel loved? I didn't even know what that was. Nobody talked about love in my house. It wasn't a conversation anybody was having. We were talking about we were out to change the world.

Yes. And I got the message that, you know, you need to be this. And I, you know, I never dawned on me to question that. I just expected that that's the path that I was going to take. So did you feel loved? I didn't even know what that was. Nobody talked about love in my house. It wasn't a conversation anybody was having. We were talking about we were out to change the world.

We were talking about my Uncle Jack. We were talking about the Peace Corps. We were talking about people with intellectual disabilities. That's what we were talking about.

We were talking about my Uncle Jack. We were talking about the Peace Corps. We were talking about people with intellectual disabilities. That's what we were talking about.

We were talking about my Uncle Jack. We were talking about the Peace Corps. We were talking about people with intellectual disabilities. That's what we were talking about.

Well, we didn't discuss feelings in my house. My mother had a saying where she would say, I don't want to hear one yip out of you. And I don't think she did it to be mean. She did it to just keep it moving.

Well, we didn't discuss feelings in my house. My mother had a saying where she would say, I don't want to hear one yip out of you. And I don't think she did it to be mean. She did it to just keep it moving.