Rory Janis Miller

Bev Rory Janis Miller

Bev was an intellectually disabled little girl born at a time when such children were hidden away, many of them in state-run facilities constructed to house people that conventional society considered defective. At the age of nine she was sent to one of the worst such institutions in the United States - Pennhurst State School and Hospital. In those chaotic wards and day rooms Bev lost not only her childhood, but also her dream of going home. While she languished at Pennhurst, her family struggled with overwhelming personal conflicts that tore them apart and pushed Bev further away from them. Her brother and sisters barely knew her and rarely saw her. Finally, after spending thirty two years in Pennhurst, she became part of a historic class action lawsuit that released her into the community to begin a new life and reconnect with the family she left behind. Her story is one of lost hope, a second chance, and the harrowing journey in between.