Beth Finke loves to read…and to write. Her book “Writing Out Loud” (Golden Alley Press) delves into her work leading memoir-writing classes for older adults in Chicago. Her first published book, a memoir called Long Time, No See (University of Illinois Press) talks about her adjustment to blindness at age 26. Her second book, Safe and Sound (Blue Marlin Publications) is a children’s book about Seeing Eye dogs that won an award for children’s literature from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Beth keeps busy leading memoir-writing classes for older adults in Chicago and visiting schools to talk with kids about disability awareness. During school presentations, her seeing eye dog Luna guides Beth through narrow hallways, crowded cafeterias, and down stairways to demonstrate some of the ways guide dogs keep their partners safe from harm. Two textbooks she wrote for a Understanding Disability series of books for elementary school students were published this past fall.
I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst. When my oldest sister moved to Chicago, she took it upon herself to expose her baby…
