When Albert Greenberg started out as Colorado’s first rehabilitation counselor for the Deaf, he had as two of his early clients, Johnnie Calderone and Saundra Scott. They forged a relationship beyond the department, and Johnnie worked with Albert as he struggled to learn American Sign Language. Albert, in turn, brought what he was learning home to Joanne. Johnnie and Saundra were married by Reverend DeMeree at Denver Temple Baptist Church in 1966, and Albert and Joanne were in attendance. With the Greenbergs’ help, among numerous others, Johnnie developed an engineering career, making many contributions to the cartography and printing industries. The couple raised three successful boys. The couple’s story is told in the new memoir, My Quiet Fight for Home.
Johnnie was born almost profoundly deaf and suffered a fall in childhood that kept him hospitalized during the time that children his age should be learning essential communication. He started first grade at age ten and enrolled at Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs one year later. At CSDB, mentored by McCay Vernon, Johnnie excelled in sports and athletics, developed an interest in science and mathematics, and honed his skills as an artist. My Quiet Fight for Home is told in first person and reads like a conversation with a friend.
Johnnie and Saundra have both read many of Joanne Greenberg’s books and recently finished On the Run. Saundra wrote this review .
“This woman loved life around her, as it shows in this book! It is a true story, “On the Run.” A mother, a writer, a volunteer firefighter, an EMT, and much more, she goes out in the middle of the night and comes home to her husband and her boys. You need to read this real-life memoir about what she loves to do. What an amazing book!“
Joanne Greenberg