Age 3: aspirins absconded with her hearing.  
Bewildered, she bounced through foster care.  
Closed-mouth skies gave no clues to stability. 
Disability dimmed adoption’s hopes.
Even so, she felt a weight lifted by imagining  
Family, the gravitational pull of fellowship.
Given no security, she built herself instead.  
Her body became a star, daring destiny,  
Iron will wrestling silence into strength. 
Jock genes she claimed—DNA’s pride.
Kicking obstacles aside, she chose college.
Leaping into jazz, she found her rhythm.  
Moved by ambition, she tried amateur shows. 
New coach, new diet—championship potential.  
Out-ranked at Ms. Olympia, she moved on.       
Pulled aboard with no sea legs, she learned.
Queen of the grinders became her new title.
Reality-competition TV reeled her in as
“Siren” on “American Gladiators.” Alas,
The turbulence of bipolar disorder shook her. 
Untangling from drugs, she chose sobriety.
Various meds failed; darkness held its ground.
Vexing, relentless, her illness prevailed.
With Julie, she found love on a farm.
X: an unknown cure doctors couldn’t find.
Years later, implants returned night sounds.

Zeal wrote her story; despair closed the book.
Zeal outlasted everything—except the dark.

“Abecedarian: Wistful Warrior — Shelley Ann Beattie”   185 words

Note: Born in California, Shelley Ann Beattie [August 24, 1967 – February 16, 2008] was a professional female bodybuilder and actress. Beattie’s highest placement was the top three at the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia contests, the two most prestigious shows for female professional bodybuilders.
She was one of the few deaf professional female bodybuilders in the world, making the cover of Deaf Life magazine twice in the 1990s.
After her retirement, she joined the Grinder on America’s Cup team, finishing second place in both 1994 and 1995.
Beattie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 2008, she hanged herself. She was 40 years old.