I really struggled early on in school. I couldn’t learn to read. And math was like another language. One fish two fish red fish blue fish. I thought I was reading but I had memorized the book. I never felt stupid but it was hard.

There was talk about keeping me back but the decision was made that I would continue on schedule. My mother gave me a stack of biographies. Each one was wrapped so that when I finished one I could open the next. I learned about Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller (who had the same birthday as me), Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart. I still struggled with reading but it was at least interesting and enjoyable.

Someone gave me a Nancy Drew book for my birthday. Well I must have really wanted to find out the secret of the old clock because I couldn’t put it down. Suddenly I was getting in trouble for reading when I should have been listening to the teacher or doing homework or sleeping. I could read a Nancy Drew book a day.

My passion for reading (as well as teachers who invested in me and strong editors) were instrumental in my growth as a writer. I never did find out the secret of math.