Raven was visited by Bedwell School principal Amy Phelan.

The idea behind Ability Day, held at the Bedwell Elementary School in Bernardsville, NJ, on May 30, was to “Take the ‘Dis’ Out of Disability.” Fourth graders, said tech and design teacher Allen Thurlow, developed inventions to help people overcome disabilities and displayed them in the gymnasium for students from the other grades to see.

Bedwell also invited The Matheny School to have a small table display at which we distributed information. The main attraction at the Matheny table, though, was 20-year-old student Raven Bennett, who has written a book called Heart Attack that tells the story of a relationship through poetry. The poems reflect different stages of a typical relationship and the journey a person takes through a relationship.

Raven had a copy of the book at the table and told visitors how they could purchase it at Amazon.com. One visitor, Bill Fosina of Gladstone, NJ, whose granddaughters attend Bedwell, said he was going to order the book and then visit Matheny so Raven could sign it. There are currently two customer reviews of Heart Attack on Amazon. One customer, Gloria J., said, “It gave insight into a young person’s life expressed through her own poetic words. One could relate and feel the inner passions of each phrase of her life as it unfolded.” Another customer reviewer, D. Dunn, added: “I can’t wait for another book from this author. The poems are very thought-provoking and mature for someone of her age.”

Thank you, Bedwell School, for making Matheny part of your Ability Day!

Bill Fosina reads one of Raven’s poems while the author looks on.