Phil Henley's Memoir SPELLBOUND-Dyslexia is Bound up with Issues and Issues of Others

As a mother of a son who is dyslexic, I realize the myriad of challenges that affect a child whose ability to learn to read is riddled with difficulties and compounded when being taught are misunderstood, misdirected and maligned by educators. Henley has a flourishing career as a standup comic. He's forthright in his memoir which charts his struggles in school with reading, school work, teachers and self-esteem. Children's self-esteem is incumbent upon parents and educators in their early learning years. The repercussions of being humiliated and made to feel inferior can be reverberated throughout their lives. Henley used humor to persevere and found a career he passionately pursues. Getting here followed laborious years as literacy never came nor ever will come, easily for him. Comparing Henley's experiences with those of my son's, I recognized numerous similarities. Reading Henley's book was distressing for me for several reasons. Firstly, the agony Henley expressed made me wince knowing my son's difficulties in school. Secondly, my son was in elementary school more than 2 decades prior and the lack of progress in  helping dyslexic students with reading or how they are abused by teachers and classmates is shamefully stilted. Being diagnosed with dyslexia doesn't reflect low intelligence; quite the contrary. But that is not the perception held by teachers and classmates for a child unable to read on par with their peers. Henley's blunt assessment, "When you're asked to do something that most people do effortlessly and that you simply can't do, it affects how you feel about yourself and it also affects how you feel about the world." is blazingly true. Dyslexia also affects life skills that pose additional obstacles which most people are oblivious to, "You see, dyslexia doesn't start and stop with reading and writing. It affects depth perception and organization which are automatic to most people." Poor eye-hand coordination and depth perception are oftentimes adversely affected. Fortunately for many with dyslexia, other strengths or coping skills may get honed. Henley credits his talent for entertaining audiences with his dyslexia. "I can trace my ability to do crowd work to being called on in class by a teacher who wanted my thoughts on a reading assignment that I hadn't even attempted to do. I had to be quick on my feet and have faith that if I started talking something would come out." What comes out of Henley's mesmerizing SPELLBOUND is all the loving support from immediate family members, close circle of friends, the cruelty he endured at school and his tenacity and talents that have served him well. I recommend this candid, clever and cogent memoir. It provides an understanding of what it feels like being dyslexic which makes many essential abilities difficult if not impossible to acquire. But thankfully, as in Henley's and my son's life, not an insurmountable roadblock for a successful and fulfilling life. SPELLBOUND is interwoven with empathy, wonder, resilience and humor.