Julia Tavalaro

Julia Tavalaro was raised on Long Island by immigrant parents. Youth and lessons learned from her abusive father resulted in her first marriage ending with flying to Mexico to file for divorce. She had a daughter with her second husband, but soon suffered a series of strokes in 1966, at the age of 31. Rendered quadriplegic and unable to voice language more complex than cries and screams, she suffered from medical abuse and neglect for roughly six years. Her treatment finally improved when a speech therapist finally determined she was fully aware and helped her begin communicating with those around her. In 1991 she met poet Richard Tayson who had been hired to teach a writing workshop at Goldwater Memorial Hospital. The two became close and he helped her complete her memoir Look Up for Yes. Her niece helped her move out of the hospital to a private nursing home where she was able to go on visits with the assistance of her friend Joe Filippone.