Literary Dialogs with Nina Serrano Featuring Dena and Becky Taylor

Tell Me the Number Before Infinity by Dena and Becky Taylor

Literary Dialogs with Nina Serrano welcomes the mother and daughter writing duo Dena and Becky Taylor to our show. Their book Tell Me The Number Before Infinity gives us an up close and personal view of raising a disabled child to adulthood as well as the viewpoint of the child as she comes of age. Tell Me the Number before Infinity, The Story of a Girl with a Quirky Mind, an Eccentric Family, and Oh Yes, a Disability is a memoir. The 60 chapters are ordered chronologically to tell a compelling and human story. Dena Taylor writes of her daughter Becky’s birth in 1972, and discovering Becky’s exceptional gift for mathematics and depth of thought even at the age of four.

TELL ME THE NUMBER BEFORE INFINITY is a hero’s journey with Becky Taylor at the forefront of the pivotal 1975 Federal Individuals with Disabilities Act, mainstreaming disabled children into the public schools. The 1997 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) entered the national consciousness when it mandated that a significant percentage of all public construction include disability accommodations.

As our society ages many of us find our selves disabled in different ways and benefiting from this legislation which provided amenities like ramps, raised toilets, automatic doors and easy wheelchair availability at airports. Disability laws are complaint-driven insuring that as long as disability and other civil rights activists raise their voices, society will move forward for better accommodations.

Becky Taylor, who  was born with cerebral palsy, has been a long time spokesperson and promoter of the disability movement in civic and community organizations. She is also a freelance computer consultant. Dena Taylor, a writer and editor, has published six books: Women of the 14th Moon, Sexual Harassment of Women, Red Flower Rethinking Menstruation, Disabled Mothers, and Feminist Parenting.

Like all good literature, Tell Me the Number Before Infinity by Dena and Becky Taylor brings the interior life into focus. Both write poetry. Their poetic sensibilities illuminate this important book. Watch the video for the full interview.

MEDIA – For photos & interviews: Paul Richards (510) 967 5577; paulrichards@estuarypress.com.

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