Dreams Never Dreamed

T ra v e l i n g to s t u d y in F ran c e for t h e summe r , C a n a dian c ol le g e student K e rr y S a muels m a d e a stop t h a t would c h a n g e his l if e . An unli k e l y c h a in of e v e nts l a nd e d him pursuing theol o g i c a l s t u d y in I s r ae l, c h a n g ing his n a me to K a l m a n, a nd ma r r y i n g his wife M a lk i . I n 1977 their inf a nt son Yossi w a s in j ur e d a nd r e n d e r e d bl i nd, d ea f, a nd ac ute l y h y p e ra c t i v e . Du r ing t h e dif f icult and i solating y e a rs of Yossi’s ea r l y c hi l dhood, his mo t h e r promised to d e dic a te h e r l i fe to helping oth e r c hi l dr e n with d i s a bi l i t ies a nd their f a m i l i e s if Yossi’s w orld of d a rkn e ss and sile n c e wo u ld ev e r be p e n e t r a ted. I nspi r e d b y their son’s re ma r k a ble b r ea kthro u g h t o c om m unic a t i on, K a l ma n a nd M a lki e stabli s h e d S h a lva, one of the wo r l d ’s l ar g e st c e n te r s for disabili t y ca r e a n d inclusion – c r e a t i n g a b e t t e r so c ie t y f o r a l l . I n Dreams Never Dreamed , S a muels jug g les li f e ’s bit t e r a nd s w ee t i n p u rsuit of g ood. D riv e n b y humorous stories a nd insi g hts, t his m e mo i r is both he a r t- w re n c hing a nd h e a rt wa rmi n g a t onc e . A sto r y o f ho pe , c oura g e , a nd le a d e rship; i t demonstr a tes th a t ordina r y p e o p le ca n c r e a t e e x tr a ordin a r y c h a n g e a nd tr a nsf o rm lif e ’s c h a l l e n g e s in t o oppo r tun i t i e s. Read the review in the Jerusalem Post