Finding Momentum

Her voice is low, husky, tinged with sadness, she speaks in a tone that whispers melancholy.

Margaret Treadbar, from St. Louis. She's a stroke survivor who cannot recall anything in her short term memory. She can read, but will not remember once the bookends close.

She's regained her speech and relearned reading from scratch. But anything she reads, she forgets. She drawls out the next few lines and trails them with a sigh.

"I've searched high and low, but it doesn't seem there is a novel that will fix me." She laughs a little. She is 33.

"I derive most pleasure from movies that seem like novels." It's something about the audio/visual inputs that helps her cling to characters who will not disappear. She was a successful lawyer a few years ago. These days, she wishes to read.

"I watched Spring Forward a few days ago and was almost moved to tears. It was almost like reading." A long pause.