在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

Psychologist Tells Inspiring Story of His Giant Uncle

In more than 50 silent movies in the 1920s, Jake Erlich amazed audiences by towering over every actor in a scene.

On stage, he was known as Jack¹ Earle, The Texas Giant. To his show business friends, he was a gentle and considerate man. Among his friends were some of the smallest people.

This son of Jewish immigrants had a tumor² on his pituitary gland³ that caused his unusual growth. Growing up... and up, in El Paso, Texas, Earle often was the object of derision.

"Having to dodge⁴ rocks that were thrown at me when I was a kid would become all too common," said Erlich, reading Earle's comments from his book.

Andrew Erlich is Jack Earle's nephew. His book, The Long Shadows, tells how Jack, or Jake, overcame his challenges, including depression.

"Most of us have something that we are embarrassed about. It is like an invisible clubfoot. But for Jake, it was present. Everybody saw it," said Erlich.

As a clinical psychologist, Andrew Erlich helps patients who see themselves as freaks. First, he tells them about his uncle. 

"Here is a man that overcomes the stereotypes⁵, and he does it not by avoiding who he is, but by embracing who he is and expressing it in the visual arts and in his performances," he said.

Erlich's book tells about how Jake toured with the circus and then, after suffering temporary blindness, took up sculpture and painting.

"He found freedom through creativity. I am very interested in the creative process in the people that I see, and I use Jake as an example, and I show them his paintings," said Erlich.

Jake's paintings depict⁶ circus events, scenic⁷ vistas⁸ and the lives of common people he met traveling the country.

"Jake really wanted to do something that was not photographic. You see a scene and your emotions come through as you see it, and you paint it from different perspectives," said Erlich.

Today, advances in medicine can prevent the gigantism that afflicted⁹ Jake Erlich. He died at the age of 46 in 1952. But Andrew Erlich said openness to diversity is progress compared to Jake's era.

"People were very frightened of human differences, and they would build walls to protect themselves from those differences and those walls that separate us are very dangerous," he said.

Erlich hopes that his uncle's story will help readers accept themselves and fulfill¹⁰ their dreams.