DREAMS NEVER DREAMED

A MOTHER'S PROMISE THAT TRANSFORMED HER SON’S BREAKTHROUGH INTO A BEACON OF HOPE

by Kalman Samuels ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2020

An Israeli couple becomes inspired by their experiences with their son to dedicate their lives to educating other children with disabilities in this debut memoir.

Samuels was born and raised in Vancouver (his Canadian bona fides include getting The Guess Who to play at his high school during his tenure as student council president) and first visited Israel as a college student. He loved the country so much that—against the wishes of his secular family—he decided to move there, join a Hasidic community, and switch his educational course to Jewish studies. At the age of 21, a matchmaker introduced him to Malki, who would become his wife. The couple soon began to raise a family, but one day they noticed that their second child, Shalom Yosef or “Yossi,” was ill. As a result of a faulty vaccination, Yossi’s eyes became glassy and he began to suffer from convulsions and hyperactivity. Samuels and his wife ultimately took Yossi to New York to receive a full diagnosis: Their son was permanently blind and partially deaf. They had great difficulty finding a school for Yossi, as most were equipped to educate a blind student but not a partly deaf one or vice versa. Back in Tel Aviv, they finally found an instructor who was prepared to teach Yossi sign language by signing words into his palm, including shulhan (table): “We were all sobbing as Shoshana began to demonstrate on the palms of Yossi’s sister and brothers how to spell shulhan, and how to sign the other letters. She told them: ‘You, too, are going to learn the letters, and you’ll at last be able speak to your brother.’ ” Malki was so inspired by the treatment that she asked Samuels to help her make it available to other families in need. Their vision was a center with after-school therapy and support for children with disabilities. The result was Shalva—the name is the Hebrew word for serenity—though the difficulties in bringing such a place into being proved to be greater than either Samuels or Malki could have imagined.

Samuels’ story is a remarkable one, offering an immersive portrait of both Israel and the state of disability care in the 1970s and ’80s. The author’s prose is competent but a bit dry. For every heartwarming (or heartbreaking) moment, there are many more dedicated to the logistics of starting and running a nonprofit: “Inroads had been made, but the bills kept piling up. Within six months, I was taking another week off from Binational for another visit to New York, but this time I was better prepared. On a shoestring budget I created a short but moving video, which included testimonials from parents of Shalva children.” The most touching sections are the ones that deal directly with Yossi, whom the author renders with great warmth and subtlety. Also compelling is the extent to which Samuels was driven by his own faith while at the same time recognizing the limits of traditional religion’s ability to educate disabled children. Those interested in the history and development of disability care will be particularly moved by the Samuelses’ story.

An inspiring and poignant, if not always riveting, account of love and healing.

Pub Date: May 15, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-59264-525-1

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Toby Press

Review Posted Online: April 25, 2020

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR