Review Of Out Of My Mind By Sharon M. Draper

Discuss a book (other than the Bible) that has impacted you and why:
A book that has really affected me is Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. The story is about Melody, a girl with a photographic memory and severe cerebral palsy causing her to be unable to move and talk. While she is incredibly smart, she is unable to express her intelligence, and she is stuck in an adaptive education classroom for educating those with disabilities. The story follows Melody as she joins regular classes and gains access to better technology that helps her communicate. During this time, Melody deals with many people making fun of her due to her disability. This does not stop Melody who joins the school's academic competition team. However, the team purposely leaves Melody behind when they go to regionals. Melody keeps going, however, understanding her worth and knowing that she does not need their approval, but rather just the approval of those who truly love her. I read this book when I was in sixth grade, right after leaving the public school system. During that time in my life, I was healing from brain lesions that caused me to have slow processing speed. The public school, understandably, could not slow down its curriculum to wait for me to heal. As I read this book, I related to Melody and her struggles. Beyond that, this book taught me how to look outside of myself. It showed me that people tend to be more than they appear. It

I believe that Out of My Mind laid the groundwork for my current goal- to open a nonprofit ministry that would serve and minister to those with