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Laura
Can you imagine growing up totally blind, yet longing to attend a normal school and be treated the same as anyone else?
Despite encountering rejection, discouragement and injustice, Laura Harding is determined to prove that those with perceived disabilities can achieve whatever they want to in life. At times Laura needs all the strength she can muster to hold onto her dreams – but will it be enough? And can she ever have faith in a God who seems to have let her down in so many ways?
This story honours those who with great courage and determination have overcome so much to develop their God-given gifts to the full, thereby blessing and inspiring us all.
Despite encountering rejection, discouragement and injustice, Laura Harding is determined to prove that those with perceived disabilities can achieve whatever they want to in life. At times Laura needs all the strength she can muster to hold onto her dreams – but will it be enough? And can she ever have faith in a God who seems to have let her down in so many ways?
This story honours those who with great courage and determination have overcome so much to develop their God-given gifts to the full, thereby blessing and inspiring us all.
241 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
8 people want to read
About the author
Jo-Anne Berthelsen
17 books20 followersJo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne loves communicating through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of seven published novels – Heléna, All the Days of My Life, Laura, Jenna, Heléna’s Legacy, The Inheritance and Down by the Water, as well as four non-fiction works, Soul Friend, Becoming Me, Swansong and God Moments. Jo-Anne also writes a weekly blog, speaks regularly to church and community groups, and loves encouraging others in life in general and in their writing journeys. She also enjoys playing the piano, crossword puzzles, reading, and interacting with her three adult children and four grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 9, 2013
Only rarely does one read a book and can say at the finish, “This book has changed my understanding!” but Jo-Anne Berthelsen’s gem laura - Be Thou My Vision is one such book.
Before she is three years old cancer is diagnosed and to save Laura’s life, her parents Ken and Margaret Harding agree to the removal of their daughter’s eyes. Laura is destined to live in a sightless world but her determination and her courageous spirit prevail. Her competitive spirit drives her to win and she attends school, lives independently, attends university and is involved in the full range of extra curricular activities. At university she received distinctions and high distinctions and with her heightened sense of hearing she excelled in the area of music. Her excellent memory more than compensated for other’s notes with the result that she outclassed them in the University debating team.
Laura achieves this despite, or maybe because of, the pain she suffered as a result of the rejection and ridicule she received from other children in her early life and the many negative responses she and her mother received from educationalists in the Government system.
Laura’s home life had its disadvantages not least being her dad’s inability to stay away from the pub. Despite this her dad was an encourager and made many good decisions regarding Laura’s future. One of these was that Laura was to be treated normally and as much as possible do everything that everyone else did. She was to swim, climb, go hiking and all the other things her brothers and sister did. Her mother was a former teacher who did all that was possible to educate Laura to the full and way above what was considered normal for her age.
laura - Be Thou My Vision is a gem, based on a true story, and a ‘must read’ for any parent, grandparent, or educationalist who works with children who are in any way challenged.
Before she is three years old cancer is diagnosed and to save Laura’s life, her parents Ken and Margaret Harding agree to the removal of their daughter’s eyes. Laura is destined to live in a sightless world but her determination and her courageous spirit prevail. Her competitive spirit drives her to win and she attends school, lives independently, attends university and is involved in the full range of extra curricular activities. At university she received distinctions and high distinctions and with her heightened sense of hearing she excelled in the area of music. Her excellent memory more than compensated for other’s notes with the result that she outclassed them in the University debating team.
Laura achieves this despite, or maybe because of, the pain she suffered as a result of the rejection and ridicule she received from other children in her early life and the many negative responses she and her mother received from educationalists in the Government system.
Laura’s home life had its disadvantages not least being her dad’s inability to stay away from the pub. Despite this her dad was an encourager and made many good decisions regarding Laura’s future. One of these was that Laura was to be treated normally and as much as possible do everything that everyone else did. She was to swim, climb, go hiking and all the other things her brothers and sister did. Her mother was a former teacher who did all that was possible to educate Laura to the full and way above what was considered normal for her age.
laura - Be Thou My Vision is a gem, based on a true story, and a ‘must read’ for any parent, grandparent, or educationalist who works with children who are in any way challenged.
Displaying 1 of 1 review