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Jessica's Journey

© Megan Drummond

Books about disability awareness are quite common in this day and age. You wouldn’t think that there would be much difference between them, but there is. A new book recently released by AmErica House, LLC, sets itself apart from other disability books in that it combines disability awareness and stories of growing friendship in a real way, a way that people with or without disabilities, young or old, can relate to.

Journey Into Friendship is a true story written by Jessica McFarlane and her best friend (me). It chronicles her years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and how the two developed a strong and lasting friendship. Journey also gives a realistic portrayal of Jessica’s disability and shows how she overcame it to attain her goals.

Jessica Denise McFarlane was born in a small town outside of Philadelphia 25 years ago. Although her parents did not know it at the time and would not know it until Jessica was four years old, their daughter was born with cerebral palsy. CP, as it is more commonly referred to, is not hereditary and it is not a disease. It is a condition that is caused by lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, and it remains unchanged throughout life. The most common cause of CP is medical malpractice and mistakes. The duration of the lack of oxygen and the location in the brain determines the type and severity of CP an individual will have.

Jessica decided when she was eight years old that she wanted to become a special education teacher. She would arrange her dolls in a play classroom and “teach” them the alphabet and their numbers. During summer vacations from school, Jessica would gather the neighbor kids on her front porch and help them with reading or whatever they needed help with. During high school, after she had been placed in a mainstream classroom, Jessica would volunteer as a tutor in the special education classes and would offer to help the teacher whenever possible.

When she started college in 1994, Jessica encountered quite a few obstacles from professors who were determined not to help her get into the teaching profession. Jessica was just as determined that she would become a teacher. After four and a half years of hard work, field experiences and student teaching, Jessica earned her degree in special education and her teaching certificate.

Jessica is not currently working in the schools, but she is teaching. She teaches Sunday school, tutors students online and teaches a romance class online at Adult University. Jessica is also a freelance writer online. She is the Disability Host at BellaOnline, writes on household management at Suite101 and writes on special education for LifeTips.

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