Jeanne Denault
Jeanne Denault was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1929 on the day the stock market crashed. Unaffected by the depression, her parents didn’t hold it against her. She chose art rather than English for college because being an artist in New York City sounded like more fun than being an English teacher in Pittsburgh. She graduated from Pratt Institute, The Gallatin Division of New York University (Biochemistry/ Nutrition) and Columbia University School of Nursing. She worked as a commercial artist, college art school instructor, visiting nurse in New York City and house renovator as her restless, former husband tried to find the perfect place to live. The second of her four children was labeled a high IQ, low achiever because he was notably brilliant, but just didn’t “get it” and kept making baffling decisions that too often had bad consequences. He was in his late forties when he was told he had Asperger Syndrome. Sucking Up Yellow Jackets, (o-books, a division of John Hunt Publishing Ltd.) is a memoir describing the toll undiagnosed Asperger Syndrome took on him, his parents and siblings.
Jeanne is a member of the Rebel Writers, featured in February 2008 Writers Digest and has published numerous articles about nursing. A runner for 43 years, she’s a bit slower, but still runs three miles most days and four on Sunday.