Several years ago I was contacted by the most delightful woman, Embry Burrus. She lives and works in Auburn, Alabama, but had grown up across the river in Columbus, where I grew up. Embry had put out her own book, about growing up with a sister who has Down's Syndrome. It's a wonderful book and here's a link where you can get your own copy. Much more uplifting, I think, than Memory Keeper's Daughter.
http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?z=y&ath=A.+Embry+Burrus
Today I got a delightful letter from Embry and some photos. I'll let her tell you all about it in her own words:
Hello friends, and family...
Margaret and I just returned from the Georgia state games for Special Olympics in Albany, Georgia. We competed as a "unified" team -- our first time ever doing this. Wow, what a weekend! Having only rolled a Bocce ball once in my life, I was worried that I would drag our team down, not to mention, Margaret had let me know in no uncertain terms, that we HAD to win the gold medal. Well, we prevailed, and did just that!
Margaret was so proud -- she laughed, jumped up and down, and finally was overcome with tears at the thrill of it all! I must say that she is quite the competitor, and had to be reined in a few times, due to her "talking smack" about the other team. 
I was very proud, as well...not just for our win, but for her, and for the chance to be with her in her element. She truly has a great group of friends and supporters, and it was wonderful for me to experience first hand how much they all love her. I've included some pictures from our weekend. The ladies in the red t-shirts are who we competed against to win the gold medal. We lost to them on Saturday, which put us in the loser's bracket, so we had to beat them twice on Sunday to win the match! They were very sweet, though, and gracious enough to let us take their picture.
Wishing you all a "gold medal" day!
Embry
Good Job, Margaret! You're the first gold medalist in my circle of friends!
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