Lori Ulman:  

Let me start out by saying The high school years were terrible years for me. My parents had a nursing home we lived in, and my dad was an emotional tyrant and physically abusive. He refused to let my sister or me go out to have friends or have a life away from him. (Think FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC. ) So my life began when I left home and went to college. I met my husband on a blind date the first week at ASU. We both graduated at the same time in ‘73. He is an attorney who is still working (you know how adult children can still drain money?) and I was a second grade teacher until we had children. I loved being a teacher. Helping children feel good about themselves and what they can accomplish just brings me joy, I taught for four years and then stopped to have children. We have two girls and a boy. One daughter is a commercial pilot for AMERICAN AIRLINES and the other daughter is a psychologist who helps transgender individuals transition. We’re so proud of them both and i’m proud of any contributions I gave them to make them strong women, But the child who most impacted my life was my last child, my son who was born with massive special needs. He had open heart surgery immediately after birth, has a seizure disorder where even today he take fifty pills a day to somewhat control seizures, is autistic and works at about a six year old level. My life has been about setting a structure for him to succeed as much as possible in his life., I think Brandon and I were put together because I was so child oriented, and had had experience teaching which I could use in our lives. It turns out I needed all that as Brandons issues are very rare. Although our brains are supposed to look like cauliflowers, half of his is entirely...Expand for more