Authors: Tiffanie Didonato,Rennie Dyball
Tags: #Biography & Autobiography, #Personal Memoirs, #Nonfiction
A PLUME BOOK
DWARF
TIFFANIE DIDONATO
graduated from the University of Massa chusetts at Dartmouth with a BFA in writing
and communications. She’s now a weekly columnist for the magazine
Encore
(encorepub.com) and is stationed with her husband at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Visit facebook.com/dwarfmemoir.
RENNIE DYBALL
is an editor at People.com and a longtime writer for
People
magazine. She has coauthored two books, Christian Siriano’s
Fierce Style
, and
A Famous Dog’s Life
with Hollywood animal trainer Sue Chipperton. Rennie is a proud Penn State University
graduate and lives with her husband in New York City. Visit renniedyball.com.
DWARF
A MEMOIR
Tiffanie DiDonato
with Rennie Dyball
A PLUME BOOK
PLUME
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, December 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © Tiffanie DiDonato and Rennie Dyball, 2012
All rights reserved
All photos courtesy of the author.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
DiDonato, Tiffanie.
Dwarf : a memoir / Tiffanie DiDonato with Rennie Dyball.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-60346-8
1. DiDonato, Tiffanie—Health. 2. Diastrophic dwarfism. 3. Bone lengthening (Orthopedics)
4. Dwarfs—Biography. I. Dyball, Rennie. II. Title.
RJ135.D53 2012
599.9’49—DC23
[B] 2012009982
Printed in the United States of America
Set in Goudy Old Style Std
Designed by Eve L. Kirch
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the
above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of nonfiction. Some names and identifying details have been altered
in order to protect the privacy of particular individuals. Everything herein is based
on the author’s own memories and recollections.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any
other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or
encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s
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Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity.
In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers;
however, the story, the experiences, and the words
are the author’s alone.
ALWAYS LEARNING | PEARSON |
To my mom, the strongest woman I know.
I will never stop fighting.
C
ONTENTS
Chapter 1.
Third-Degree Dwarfism
Chapter 3.
Everyone Has Problems
Chapter 6.
You’re Obviously a Dwarf
Chapter 8.
Learning to Walk Again
Chapter 9.
You’re Gonna Be the One That Saves Me
Chapter 10.
Duct Tape and All-Nighters
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
D
AD, THANK YOU
for always viewing me as your little pumpkin pie. See, it’s all worth it. I love
you. “Please, sir or madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will
you take a look?”
Papa, thank you for your warm embrace, comforting smile, and tears of joy and happiness
that morning by your pool. I am grateful to be a DiDonato.
Dr. Mortimer, I hope you know that I always viewed you as more than simply my doctor.
You are a part of my family. I don’t have enough space within this book to adequately
thank you for all you have done for me throughout the years. Among the gifts of love,
trust, understanding, and compassion, you have also given me a chance to be free.
I hope I didn’t let you down.