
I Know My Way Memoir
Rita Pardue
Who was Theresa Marafito?
Theresa Marafito, daughter of Irish immigrant parents, was born in 1933 in New York City, blind in one eye with partial vision in the other. She was a precocious child who wanted to appear “normal” to her peers and family, regardless of her disability. Her game was to be independent, not dependent and would rarely ask for help.
At nineteen she graduated magna cum laude with two master’s degrees. Theresa and her husband Jerry, who was also visually impaired, would build a house on a shoestring budget and had two daughters; one who was also born visually impaired. Despite the laughter and happiness that was ever present in their home and business serving the public, Theresa’s marriage was strong enough to endure one operation after another in a desperate attempt to keep her from becoming totally blind, plus the horror of watching her infant daughter’s agony of being put under the knife.
In late 1986, Theresa’s perfect world came to a crashing halt when her soul mate Jerry lost his life to cancer. She was so devastated that she poured her heart out on an old manual typewriter trying to capture all of her precious memories. It was after her very tragic death in 2008 that the notes were found and became the starting point of this memoir.
Linda, as daughter and Copywriter for several years, knew it would be a great pleasure to capture the essence of her mother’s life in this memoir, and help the sighted world to have a better picture of a typical family model with the difficulties of living with visually impaired members. She was up to the task of explaining the level of emotion needed to convey the tension at every turn because she is now almost blind herself, and lost her first husband to cancer as well.
Linda Odubayo Thompson
Author - Rita Pardue.
Narrator - Rita Pardue.
Published Date - Sunday, 22 January 2023.
Copyright - © 2018 Linda Odubayo Thompson ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
Who was Theresa Marafito? Theresa Marafito, daughter of Irish immigrant parents, was born in 1933 in New York City, blind in one eye with partial vision in the other. She was a precocious child who wanted to appear “normal” to her peers and family, regardless of her disability. Her game was to be independent, not dependent and would rarely ask for help. At nineteen she graduated magna cum laude with two master’s degrees. Theresa and her husband Jerry, who was also visually impaired, would build a house on a shoestring budget and had two daughters; one who was also born visually impaired. Despite the laughter and happiness that was ever present in their home and business serving the public, Theresa’s marriage was strong enough to endure one operation after another in a desperate attempt to keep her from becoming totally blind, plus the horror of watching her infant daughter’s agony of being put under the knife. In late 1986, Theresa’s perfect world came to a crashing halt when her soul mate Jerry lost his life to cancer. She was so devastated that she poured her heart out on an old manual typewriter trying to capture all of her precious memories. It was after her very tragic death in 2008 that the notes were found and became the starting point of this memoir. Linda, as daughter and Copywriter for several years, knew it would be a great pleasure to capture the essence of her mother’s life in this memoir, and help the sighted world to have a better picture of a typical family model with the difficulties of living with visually impaired members. She was up to the task of explaining the level of emotion needed to convey the tension at every turn because she is now almost blind herself, and lost her first husband to cancer as well. Linda Odubayo Thompson Author - Rita Pardue. Narrator - Rita Pardue. Published Date - Sunday, 22 January 2023. Copyright - © 2018 Linda Odubayo Thompson ©.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:00:47
Chapter 2
Duration:00:03:34
Chapter 3
Duration:00:02:32
Chapter 4
Duration:00:10:07
Chapter 5
Duration:00:03:18
Chapter 6
Duration:00:04:17
Chapter 7
Duration:00:07:37
Chapter 8
Duration:00:07:53
Chapter 9
Duration:00:03:09
Chapter 10
Duration:00:04:43
Chapter 11
Duration:00:07:32
Chapter 12
Duration:00:10:32
Chapter 13
Duration:00:09:24
Chapter 14
Duration:00:03:58
Chapter 15
Duration:00:06:20
Chapter 16
Duration:00:03:42
Chapter 17
Duration:00:09:34
Chapter 18
Duration:00:09:21
Chapter 19
Duration:00:07:48
Chapter 20
Duration:00:05:19
Chapter 21
Duration:00:02:46
Chapter 22
Duration:00:03:08
Chapter 23
Duration:00:14:59
Chapter 24
Duration:00:07:05
Chapter 25
Duration:00:25:39
Chapter 26
Duration:00:06:21
Chapter 27
Duration:00:08:23
Chapter 28
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 29
Duration:00:07:51
Chapter 30
Duration:00:06:00
Chapter 31
Duration:00:06:15
Chapter 32
Duration:00:08:02
Chapter 33
Duration:00:04:08
Chapter 34
Duration:00:02:36
Chapter 35
Duration:00:05:59
Chapter 36
Duration:00:16:02
Chapter 37
Duration:00:03:42
Chapter 38
Duration:00:05:33
Chapter 39
Duration:00:30:33
Chapter 40
Duration:00:04:32
Chapter 41
Duration:00:11:46
Chapter 42
Duration:00:13:50
Chapter 43
Duration:00:19:48
Chapter 44
Duration:00:06:15
Chapter 45
Duration:00:03:22
Chapter 46
Duration:00:03:12
Chapter 47
Duration:00:04:45
Chapter 48
Duration:00:09:24
Chapter 49
Duration:00:04:32
Chapter 50
Duration:00:06:03
Chapter 51
Duration:00:05:19
Chapter 52
Duration:00:02:22
Chapter 53
Duration:00:13:41
Chapter 54
Duration:00:06:30
Chapter 55
Duration:00:18:50
Chapter 56
Duration:00:04:40
Chapter 57
Duration:00:22:17
Chapter 58
Duration:00:03:41
Chapter 59
Duration:00:07:34
Chapter 60
Duration:00:03:08
Chapter 61
Duration:00:02:16
Chapter 62
Duration:00:03:45
Chapter 63
Duration:00:04:52
Chapter 64
Duration:00:05:05
Chapter 65
Duration:00:07:46
Chapter 66
Duration:00:08:51
Chapter 67
Duration:00:04:26
Chapter 68
Duration:00:10:37
Chapter 69
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 70
Duration:00:03:38
Chapter 71
Duration:00:03:02
Chapter 72
Duration:00:01:41
Chapter 73
Duration:00:01:40
Chapter 74
Duration:00:02:02
Chapter 75
Duration:00:00:39
Chapter 76
Duration:00:04:54
Chapter 77
Duration:00:07:15
Chapter 78
Duration:00:06:43
Chapter 79
Duration:00:06:51
Chapter 80
Duration:00:01:18
Chapter 81
Duration:00:00:55
Chapter 82
Duration:00:03:30
Chapter 83
Duration:00:00:48