Walking Free

In May of 1976, at the age of 71, the deaf and blind Nellie Zimmerman was released from the Massillon State Hospital. After nineteen years of confinement she took her first breath of freedom. Nellie went on to attend college, became a well known lecturer and an award winning life skills instructor at a group home for deaf and deaf-blind teenage boys. Rosezelle Boggs-Qualls and Dr. Daryl Greene go behind the headlines to bring Nellie Zimmermans story to life, as told by Emily Street Hensel, her companion and friend and as documented by genealogical research and the national publicity surrounding her accomplishments. Dr. Greene writes, This is an incredible story of the victory of the human spirit over what most of us would consider insurmountable circumstances. Once you read it, you will see your own life in a new light.