Getting to Here

It's a story that is lusty and enlightening, infuriating and inspiring. It's about a gifted girl who won't shut up about what is wrong with schools, who then goes on to do something about it. It's about a girl of the era of Women's Lib, who fights for its new freedoms and embraces them with gusto. It's about a girl who falls in love with a much older man and whose romance of four decades breaks the rules and builds a legacy. It's about a girl who never suffers fools gladly, and the pain that brings.

How does a square peg survive in a world of round holes? What happens to our sharp edges as we careen into our seventh decade of a wild life? Follow this cage-rattling lady from down-and-out in Central Florida, where she finds herself unceremoniously fired and caring for her elderly, disabled, and demented husband to a renewed teaching career in Virginia. In this memoir, she reflects on the rocky path that her passions have led her down, from high-school rebel to private school founder, from award-winning doctoral student to busy actress, from toilet cleaner in the Black Hills to devoted mother and home-wrecker, and a whirl of roles in between. How did she get here?

Was it being born on the Fourth of July that set Lorraine Bouchard on a lifelong path of independence? Hers is a road less traveled. As a teen activist, she fought her way through school, insisting on gender equity in course offerings and on the opportunity to graduate high school in less than four years. At the age of 30, she showed the world how education should be done by founding the non-profit, independent Rainard School for gifted learners; she later worked to launch other schools in Virginia, Florida, and Ohio. She is a lifelong champion of gifted people, and has presented nationally and internationally on the topic. She holds an Ed.D. from the University of Houston, where her research on overexcitabilities earned the Hollingworth Award from the National Association for Gifted Children. Beyond her life as an educator, Ms. Bouchard is passionate about enjoying nature. She loved her years working in residential summer camps in Washington and Colorado, and she insisted on taking her students camping and on nature walks. The beach is her happy place where she contentedly plays in the waves, snorkels the reefs, and hunts for mermaid tears. While education made Dr. Bouchard a living, creativity colors her life. She coached creative problem solving teams and served as the regional director for Odyssey of the Mind. Dr. Bouchard loves theatre, from the vantage of audience, director, and actor, having performed in dozens of productions in eight states. She also exercises her creativity through drawing, voiceover work, gourmet cooking, and English smocking. Her motto is Risk Joy. By pursuing her passions both professionally and personally, despite their risks, Dr. Bouchard has enjoyed a full life of love.