“Tragedy, Triumph and Tchaikovsky,” Jill Grande Goodsell’s  story of her journey through life.  It is a story of birth through adulthood filled with tragedy.  It has a triumphant ending and is laced with glorious music. This is an incredible journey of a woman who was born into an abusive, violent, alcoholic childhood but who was destined to be a child prodigy.  This is a story of a child prodigy who took care of her parents until the day they died.  This is a story of a woman who married a man which resulted in her living in this nightmare of abuse and violence.  Jill had her two children:  one a beautiful boy; the other  a girl who was (as a result of the incredible horror of prenatal abuse and violence) born profoundly retarded, severely brain-damaged and autistic with Grand-Mal seizures. 

 

This is the story about a woman:
*who escaped
*who brought up two children by herself
*who became Teacher of the Year
*who pursued an opera career
*who taught thousands of students and made a difference in their lives
*who emerged from all of this as a loving, giving, forgiving human being who sought and intended to make a difference in the lives of all those whom she touched

 

This is the story of an amazing woman who was featured on Channel 7 as an outstanding person of the week in Los Angeles and who received an “Outstanding Citizen” award from the city council.  This is the struggle of a woman to set an example against all odds for her children to follow. 

 

Triumphantly, this is the story of a woman who broke the chains of violence and abuse in her family forever!

This story deserves to be – NEEDS to be – heard