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"Dreams do come true. If they didn't, why would God design our hearts with the capacity to yearn for something greater than ourselves?" writes Heather Whitestone.
Listening with My Heart is the story of Heather's journey from a deaf child with a dream to Miss America 1995. Stricken with an infection that sent her temperature soaring when she was eighteen months old, Heather lost most of her hearing. But she didn't lose heart. Her courageous struggle to follow her dreams is an inspiring testimony to the goodness of God and the triumph of the human spirit.
Heather's road to the Miss America crown was like no other. Born in Alabama, she attended a school for the deaf in Saint Louis. While in college, she began competing in local pageants, and, after placing second for two years, she won the Miss Alabama pageant in 1995. A few months later she became the first woman with a disability to reach the top.
With the help of co-author Angela Hunt, Heather writes not only to tell her own story but to encourage young people to follow their dreams. She describes what goes on backstage at pageants as well as the hard work and dedication required to participate. Each competitor in the pageant must perform community service and establish a pageant platform. Heather's was STARS (Success Through Action and Realization of your dreamS).
At times, however, wearing the crown seemed more like a nightmare.
Disappointment at rejection from the deaf community about signing versus talking, loneliness, and exhaustion (she traveled some 20,000 miles per month with only one day off) -- all took their toll. At one of these low points, Heather opened her Bible and God's message of love gave her the strength she needed to survive. "All I had to do was trust."
Heather writes not only to tell her own story but to encourage young people to follow their dreams. "God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our full potential, and he holds a bright, realistic dream for each of us."
Myrtlemay Pittman Crane is a writer, editor, and speaker from Alderwood Manor, WA.
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