Helene Oppenheimer and Michael Rosen
READ HELENE'S STORY IN THE JUST-RELEASED BOOK
DEAF ESPRIT
PLEASE Request your local library purchase a book!
or e-mail Damara: ARAMAD@aol.com
Excerpt from Deaf Esprit:
Hands are for Sharing:Helene's Story
By Michael J. Rosen
When a person has endured much pain and suffering in her life, yet can still be a source of compassion and love, it is truly amazing and inspiring. Such is the case with Helene E.R. Oppenheimer.
"Rescue" has been a recurrent theme in Helene's life.
Coming to America from Germany at age seven with her physically
and sexually abusive father, and her developmentally disabled
German-Jewish mother, Helene was eventually rescued by her maternal
grandmother, and declared a ward of the California courts. She
was then placed in numerous temporary foster homes. Throughout
these difficult times, Helene would temporarily escape into the
world she sketched and colored. At age 14, Helene was kidnapped
and tortured, and eventually left abandoned in a parking lot.
Her perpetrators would never be caught. Unfortunately, no one
was able to rescue young Helene from this excruciating experience,
so she had to find her own way of dealing with the pain. She turned
to drawing as a form of healing...
