The Silent Hurt

The Silent Hurt portrays a young poor country girl with a disability who was labeled harshly by society. Even so, through strong determination and a powerful inner spirit, she refused to accept those labels. Jo Ann Coleman was born in the forties and lived in a very small town in Louisiana. At age five, she started school and soon realized that she was not like the other boys and girls in her class.

Struggling first in elementary school, where she was immediately labeled as retarded, she eventually lost sight in her right eye. She grew up among cousins, without her parents, and constantly felt depressed and alone, facing name-calling from her peers. She graduated from high school and received a scholarship to attend nursing school-only to lose the scholarship due to missing an important letter. Because of her silent depression as a child, she eventually attempted suicide.

Her disability and low self-esteem made her feel that no one cared. When she finally let Jesus Christ direct her life, however, everything turned around. She turned adversity into triumph and now seeks to inspire those afflicted by physical, emotional, and mental handicaps and low self-esteem. Although she made many mistakes and had her flaws, those flaws would eventually become her joy, peace, and contentment. With the true peace that comes from knowing Jesus Christ, she discovered the life she had been dreaming of since childhood.