When Linda was a child, she was beset by a very severe stuttering problem. Both other children and adults gave her much ridicule because of it. But a speech psychologist helped her accommodate and accept herself. There began her life-long ambition to become a child psychologist and help suffering children.

She succeeded in gaining a degree and established a practice in a downtrodden county, where she helped children with trauma, abused women, and people overwhelmed with grieving. When she was dying, I made two discovering. First, a flood of former clients arrived, several saying that Linda had, literally, saved their lives. Second, on some scraps of paper were autobiographical notes. One recalled that her mentor, or perhaps it was her department chair, had warned her that she could never never be a successful therapist, because of course the stuttering would make it impossible. Next to this she wrote, "Hah!". Why "hah"? Because her stuttering allowed deeply vulnerable people to feel comfortable wth this other obviously vulnerable person who was trying to help. Instead of a God-like figure of perfection, here she was, imperfect, even a victim herself, but perfectly able and eager to heal others.

Hah!