The former Pearl C. Anderson Middle School art teacher has created an inspiring series of paintings, “Listen to Your Heart,” that colorfully illustrates her personal struggle with heart disease.

After years of imprisonment, abuse and hardship and decades of nightmares, the petite Vietnamese refugee and single mother, now 51, has begun to pour her heart out on canvas.

The language of art and literature is more than just words on a page or brushstrokes on a canvas. It's the rich tapestry of human experience, a shared lexicon of emotion, aspiration, and imagination.