“You Walk Pretty”
by LeAnne Nelson
reviewed by Evelyn Anderson
Many Access Press readers
know LeAnne Nelson Dahl by name since she has written articles for
this publication over several years.
I’m one of the lucky people who also knows her in person.
I met LeAnne more than 20 years ago, when she and two other women,
Polly Edmunds and Rianne Leaf, walked into our little PACER office
in south Minneapolis. I was one of the original staff of five at
PACER, and the three newcomers were puppeteers in what came to be
known as “Count Me In.” LeAnne was the first person with
cerebral palsy I had ever known well enough to speak to, and she
shattered my stereotypes right away.
LeAnne, Rianne, and
Polly visited elementary schools to talk with kids about disabilities
in a non-threatening manner. They did so by operating life-size
puppets—each representing a disability
with which the puppeteer had a personal connection.
LeAnne’s puppet character was Sally, a girl with cerebral
palsy. LeAnne told us at PACER a story, laughing as she told it,
that still stays with me. When she (as Sally) told the kids she had “CP,” she
asked them if they knew what that was. A little boy answered with
excitement, “Chicken pox!”
I was pleased to see
that one of my other favorite LeAnne stories turned into the title
of her new book: You Walk Pretty. A neighbor child watched LeAnne
walking in front of her home with her usual gait, which some would
describe as clumsy or awkward. The little girl said, clearly impressed, “You
walk pretty.”
LeAnne does walk pretty and has a pretty soul. Her book, a longtime
dream, consists of poetry that describes incidents in her life and
particularly honors her parents, now deceased, for their belief in
her and their commitment to her educational and personal development.
In the book, LeAnne tells what it is like to live with cerebral palsy
and to struggle toward independence. Besides helping herself, she
has long been an advocate and lobbyist for others with disabilities.
LeAnne’s independent
spirit and faith show through, particularly when she writes of the
difficult times she has faced. Those of us who know her aren’t
surprised at all. In a poem called “What Would I Do?” from
You Walk Pretty, LeAnne writes about her dreams of what she’d
be if she didn’t
have cerebral palsy: a teacher, a driver for home-bound people, a
worker in a homeless shelter. Then she concludes:
However, I do have cerebral palsy.
I’m thankful for what I can do and give.
Perhaps things don’t come easy for me,
But I will give all I can as long as I live.
Autographed copies are
available by contacting the author at lmd508@aol.com. The book
also is available through the publisher, www.publish america.com.
Type in the title in the ”Online Bookstore” tab. Cost
is $1495 with postage.
Evelyn Anderson, who worked
for Arc Minnesota as well as PACER, currently is with the MN Department
of Health as coordinator the new MN Disability Health Project. She
may be reached at evelyn.anderson
@health.state.mn.us.
