The story of...Silent Jimmy Anest

Silent Jimmy Anest was born in 1924 to immigrant parents from Greece and grew up on the Eastside of NYC. He was of normal birth, but unfortunately at five years old developed spinal meningitis then later became profoundly deaf. Jimmy went to several schools for the deaf and had friends who were both hearing and deaf. He learned how to lip-read and use American Sign Language.

One running theme in Jimmy's life was that he struggled with people treating him fairly. He was often made fun of because of his disability. Jimmy lived with deafness; however, despite himself, became a professional boxer in the 1940s, and successful businessman, even though he faced personal troubles and discrimination in the hearing world. Jimmy exhibited his tenacity for life in and out of the ring. His influence has helped his family and friends to press on when things got hard, to fight the good fight, and never give up!

Kathleen Dell'Arena Schnorr is a Doctor of Education with a concentration in Organizational Leadership. She dedicated her dissertation on growth mindset to her late grandfather "Silent Jimmy Anest," a deaf boxer in NYC during the 1940s, who inspired her to press on in times when things were hard, and to whom this book is about. Kathleen is a veteran educator and specializes in language arts and teaching students who are deaf and hard of hearing. She considers herself a life-long learner and was recently accepted into the American Sign Language program at Gallaudet University. Kathleen is an accomplished writer and resides in New York with her husband, Joey and daughter, Kayleen. For fun she plays the piano, tap dances, travels like her granddad, and is an advocate of deaf awareness, culture. community, and American Sign Language.