Evelyn Ayrault is a spastic, and when an infant her parents were told that he would never walk- or talk. However, sometimes harshly, with stringent realism, they brought her up not only to take the first decisive step- but one giant step after another in an attempt to treat her as normally as possible (although in later years they were not as helpful when she tried to secure the independence she wanted). This is an outgoing account of her childhood; her attempt to compete with her sister (""make me nice like Hope""); the schooling she was almost denied; finally college where she was successful at all levels; a romance -- short lived (his mother- ""can't you do better than that""); and finally, with the help of advanced study, therapy, one friend, independence now as a psychologist in New York and work with others who are cerebral palsied. Miss Ayrault faces and does not minimize the emotional as well as physical problems of disability (the chief handicap is to accept your limitations) and her story is not only interesting in itself but in the instruction and incentive it offers others- particularly families, therapists, etc.