Vincent I Perry
A true story, a personal love history, an autobiographical memoir of a loving couple, occurring during the years 1965-1976 at a major university in the state of Illinois. The love affair involved a middle-aged married woman and mother of three, named Dorothy, whose marriage had long been dead. She rediscovered happiness when a blind college student, named Grant, half Dorothy’s age, fell in love with her; and their love affair resulted in a happy marriage of thirty years, a tribute to the power of true love. This story is reconstructed from Dorothy’s diary entries and from the phenomenal memory of Grant, who has survived Dorothy’s death. Dorothy possessed extraordinary energy, was a devoted mother, a highly talented seamstress, and an exceptional cook. She had long fallen out of love with her husband. Despite her energy and ingenuity invested in trying to raise her children properly, she found herself constantly frustrated by their uncooperative shortcomings. While trapped in this unrewarding home life, Dorothy blazed her path out of her unhappy wilderness by first gaining self-esteem as a successful singer in her local Sweet Adelines organization. She acquired additional self-worth by becoming an accomplished swimmer. She was finally able to find an escape out of her home life through volunteer work at the university for blind students, who instantly recognized her extraordinary loving nature and remarkable personality. These students became her friends and gave her the honorific name Ma, their loving and helpful mother away from home. Within two years one of these students fell in love with her, and she with him. The book narrates how their love began, evolved, encountered adversities, was increasingly sexualized, and how the power of their love freed Dorothy from her marriage and opened up a new and fulfilling life for Dorothy and Grant.
