JOAN RYAN

Dr. Joan Ryan will read from her memoir, The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, a Son, and Their Second Chance. When her son wakes from his coma, Joan gets a second chance at motherhood. She rejoices at his first word, his first step, his first spoon of food, his first attempt to write. She gets to be his mother all over again and for the first time recognizes what an amazing, heroic young man he is. The Water Giver is the universal story of a mother coming to terms with her limitations and learning that the best way to help her child is simply to love him.