Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott

A moving and powerful introduction to the life and art of renowned artist, Judith Scott, as told by her twin sister, Joyce Scott and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist, Melissa Sweet.

Judith Scott was born with Down syndrome. She was deaf, and never learned to speak. She was also a talented artist. Judith was institutionalized until her sister Joyce reunited with her and enrolled her in an art class. Judith went on to become an artist of renown with her work displayed in museums and galleries around the world.

Poignantly told by Joyce Scott in collaboration with Brie Spangler and Melissa Sweet and beautifully illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist, Melissa Sweet, Unbound is inspiring and warm, showing us that we can soar beyond our perceived limitations and accomplish something extraordinary.

"Told in an order that allows readers to appreciate Judy the way Joyce does, this book’s creators successfully render a personal story of love, nurture, and individual gifts.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Entwined

Order from: Beacon Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Judith Scott, despite the challenges of Down syndrome, profound deafness, and thirty-five years of institutionalization has recently been hailed as "One of the most important artists of the twentieth century”, and through television and the press, her mythic journey from dark institutional anonymity to international acclaim has attracted widespread public attention.

In Entwined, Joyce Wallace Scott takes us on a powerful voyage of self-discovery through her twin sister’s silent world, providing a moving account of their shared childhood, in which may lie the origins of Judith’s latent creative genius.  It is an epic story of love and determination; of vulnerability and powerlessness; of disability and genius.    
       
Torn apart without warning or explanation in the midst of a loving childhood, the twins are to lead starkly differing lives, two separate journeys each passing through its own emotional wilderness.  For Joyce it is a journey punctuated by loss and longing, a journey of relentless searching and sorrow: for Judy, an inner strengthening to endure the interminable emptiness of silence and neglect. In the background stands the tragic figure of their mother, forever haunted by remorse, in self-defense reluctant to acknowledge the growing fame of the daughter she had sent away.

In the bleak landscape of lives unravelling, revealed through the early chapters of Entwined, small points of light appear, gradually coalescing into a galaxy of miracles.  As the strands of the story are drawn together, they weave a compelling tapestry of human emotion, through which shines the brilliant light of an extraordinary human being.

Discounted and discarded herself by society, Judith Scott found her inspiration amid objects themselves broken and abandoned.  Salvaged, wrapped and woven, they are entwined into mysterious forms of great beauty — truly straw turned into gold.  Today her art is featured in museums and galleries around the world.  Entwined is a true story of loss, love and transformation.

More about the book: www.Beacon.org/Entwined-P1198.aspx

PRAISE & REVIEWS

“Entwined afforded me the rare experience of finishing a book and wanting immediately to read it again. Joining the worlds of outsider art and disability with startling emotional depth, Joyce Scott takes the reader on a powerful journey of loss, longing, family, false starts, resilience—and ultimately—love.”
—James W. Trent Jr., author of Inventing the Feeble Mind

“Entwined is more than the story of twin sisters torn apart by the failings of society. It is an emotionally textured, indelibly layered, radiant weave of family and history, secrets and loyalty, disability and defiance, tragedy and forgiveness. Joyce Scott’s memoir speaks of a pain almost too wrenching to fathom, and a love so vast it will untie your own heart. I began this book spellbound by the intimacy Joyce shared with her famously gifted sister, Judith. I ended it moved by the transcendent language of art—and its power to turn suffering into beauty.”
—Rachel Simon, author of The Story of Beautiful Girl and Riding the Bus with My Sister

“Many books are hash-tagged ‘inspirational,’ but Entwined is the genuine thing, that rare and heart-wrenching blend of humor and pathos, but also a shiny gallantry, that makes it truly unforgettable.”
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Two If by Sea

“Joyce Scott and her sister, Judith, tell the same story, one using words and one using lengths of string and yarn to weave a complex and deeply moving narrative of their violent separation when they were children. Entwined carries us through a courageous exploration of what that separation cost both of these women, and of what they somehow managed to protect and preserve. This is a profound, wise, and beautiful telling of their shared story.”
—Meredith Hall, author of Without a Map

“This story is a testament to love, the mysteries and pull of connection, and seeing past convention and appearances to our true selves. Joyce Scott knew, over decades and thousands of miles, that her twin needed to be freed. It took two forms of courage to liberate not only her own heart, but her sister’s gigantic creative force.”
—Paul and Judy Karasik, coauthors, The Ride Together: A Brother and Sister’s Memoir of Autism in the Family