EnTWINed:  About the book

EnTWIN ed is drawing critical acclaim from all who have been privileged to read the MS.   People have written of it:

    "In this powerful and penetrating book Joyce Scott lyrically resumes her childhood role of translator and interpreter, telling Judy's inspiring story with poetic grace and deep insight. "

            "Down Syndrome and deafness, vulnerability and powerlessness — these are the threads binding the fabric of Judith Scott’s epic journey from deep institutional darkness to the brilliant spotlight of international acclaim.

            EnTWINed is a true mythic story, told with  both understanding and humor.   Joyce Wallace Scott takes us on a moving journey of self discovery as she guides us with stark candor and profound insights through her twin sister’s silent world to reveal its far-reaching impact on her own life and the lives of others.

            Suddenly torn apart during a loving childhood, the twins are to lead starkly differing lives, two separate journeys each passing through its own emotional wilderness.  For Joyce it is a journey punctuated by loss and longing, a journey of relentless searching and sorrow: for Judy, an inner strengthening to endure the silence of interminable emptiness and neglect.

            In the bleak landscape of lives unraveling through the early chapters of EnTWINed, small points of light appear, gradually coalescing into a galaxy of miracles.  As the seemingly disparate strands of the story are subtly drawn together, they start to weave a compelling tapestry of human emotion, through which shines the brilliant light of an extraordinary human being...   c

u    "The fabric of this unusual book is woven from the luminous strands of many stories, some dark some bright.  It is founded on the parallel themes of  disability and creative genius, of Down Syndrome and deafness,  bound within a dense matrix of loss and vulnerability; of powerlessness and emergent strength.

At its center stands the remarkable figure of Judith Scott.  It is around her and her epic journey from the deep shadows of institutional anonymity into the spotlight of international acclaim, that the stories are spun.  Inextricably interwoven with Judith’s narrative is that of her twin sister,  who acts as guide and interpreter, providing the words that Judith herself lacked.

 Herself discounted and overlooked by society, Judith found her artistic inspiration in society’s castoffs, among objects broken and abandoned.  Swathed, wrapped, layered and entwined in countless threads of every hue, it is the discarded objects within that give final form to Judith’s mysterious and emotive sculptures as she spins straw into gold.

Rich in metaphor,  EnTWINed is a reflection of Judith’s story.  It is she, once discarded, who we find giving shape, form, direction and meaning to the myriad life stories being woven and transformed around her.  Judith is here revealed as a weaver of destinies."

"“Mythic but true, EnTWINed emerges as a classic fairy tale.  It is the story of Judith Scott, who against all odds arises from the shadows to become an artist of international acclaim.  Deeply layered, it is a story of twins and Down Syndrome, of deafness and institutions.  Guided by her twin sister Joyce, we are led on an intimate journey of revelation through Judy’s silent world.   

    Twice challenged, the auguries at Judy’s birth could scarcely have been less auspicious.  Concealed within the hand that the Fates had dealt lie several trump cards.  Yet for Judy and Joyce, the joyful days of childhood come suddenly to an abrupt end as Judy is spirited away in the night without warning, leaving both twins wounded and perplexed.  Grief permeates the family.  As lives disintegrate, Entwined charts a course through the debris with deep insights and stark candor, leaving us wondering whether there can ever be resolution and healing.  Judy will languish in silence for thirty-five years in a bleak state institution, her profound deafness undiagnosed, her creative genius dormant and unsuspected. 

    But from such despair is born hope, and from such hope is born transformation.  Following her sister’s intervention, Judy regains her freedom, and blossoms into an artist of international acclaim, her fiber sculptures bursting unannounced from some inner spring of unique creativity. 

    Though deaf and lacking language, Judy speaks eloquently to the world through her sculptures.  Discounted and discarded herself, it was in society’s flotsam and jetsam — yarns and fibers, broken and abandoned objects  — that she found her inspiration.  Today Judy’s art is featured in galleries around the world, and eagerly acquired by leading museums for their permanent collections.  

    EnTWINed speaks to us on many levels.  Reflecting a complex landscape of conflicting emotions, we can only marvel as the strands of the story are drawn together and woven into a rich and inspiring tapestry, through which shines the light of a unique human spirit that refused to be dimmed by adversity, whose capacity to love remained unblemished.  Like ripples radiating out across the surface of a pond, Judy’s, legacy continues to expand, touching and molding ever more lives.”

 To read sample chapters from EnTWINed click here.

Return to Home Page