[humanser] Article JD mentioned from the Carolinian

[Carmella D Broome]

With permission of Marshall Swanson and the Carolinian,  I am posting this on my blog for those who  don't have access to the print magazine.  The Carolinian is the  Alumni magazine for the University of South Carolina. The picture was great, so I'm told.  Unfortunately, for some reason, Live Journal won't let me upload it here.  It is of me and  Maggie sitting in the grass on the USC horse shoe. 

The Carolinian, Bravo section (August 2009)



Carmella's Quest 

New book takes readers into the world of the blind

By Marshall Swanson 



Carmella Broome has been blind since birth, but she holds three college degrees, has a fulfilling career as a licensed marriage and family therapist, and enjoys living independently in her own apartment. 

          Her achievements would be noteworthy for any 32-year-old and yet she recently added another one to her already impressive resume: that of published author. Her first book, Carmella's Quest, Taking on College Sight Unseen (Red Letter Press) is an account of her first year as an undergraduate at North Greenville University in 1994-1995. 

          "The book was with me for so long it's nice to finally have it see the light of day," said Broome, who received her Ed.S. degree in counselor education from Carolina in 2004 and is now on the staff of Crossroads Counseling Center in Lexington. 

          Carmella's Quest began to germinate at the end of her freshman year when Broome came to the realization that her college experience would be the journey that empowered her to earn a fulfilling and productive place in adulthood. 

She knew the book would take sighted readers into a world they didn't know about. And she was aware it would be of interest to other blind students and all high school seniors getting ready to enter college. 

She didn't write the book with a particular audience in mind, though she knows the subject of visual impairment is what sets it apart from other books and that it will help sighted people interact with blind people. 

"I tried very hard to make sure that Carmella's Quest was a balance of blindness-related experiences that others could learn from and more universal emotional and relational experiences that anyone can relate to," said Broome. 
Moreover, she hopes Carmella's Quest will help clarify that the blind have the same ambitions, intelligence, and expectations in life as sighted people and that they don't want to be thought of as helpless or incapable. 

          Since publication of Carmella's Quest in March, Broome, a native of Beach Island, has begun recording the book for the S.C. State Library's Talking Book Services for readers who are unable to read standard print. 

She's also thinking of a sequel about her life with Maggie, a "very cute" yellow Labrador who has been a beloved guide dog and constant companion of the last 10 years. In the meantime, Broome maintains a blog at CarmellasQuest.LiveJournal.com and can be reached at carmellasquest at hotmail.com. Carmella's Quest is available at redletterpress.googlepages.com and Amazon.com. 

          



Carmella Broome, Ed.S., LPC, LMFT/I
Crossroads Counseling Center
www.solutionsforlife.org