"Hey, it's Darlene. I got the job!"

"Great! How many other teachers applied for that position?"

"Just me! I guess no one else was up for the challenge of a multi-handicapped class of junior high kids, but I am."

"Uh, Congratulations, I think."

"Thanks, I'm going to love it!"

And she did.

As a child, Darlene always felt like an outsider and was drawn to others like herself. She learned sign language from her deaf neighbor, Joe, and was the only person in the neighborhood who could communicate with him. The Helen Keller story inspired Darlene. So did the movie Teacher Teacher, which is about a teacher with many demons who works with a severely autistic, lonely young boy. Those teachers brought both of these children into a world they might never have known or become a part of. That's what Darlene wanted to do. In her first book, ONCE THERE WAS A CHILD, Darlene Kwarta chronicles her journey with children who were often forgotten.