In Nephilim and Lay My Head, by Annette Binder, the two main characters suffer from a lack of control over their bodies due to certain illnesses. These stories share an interesting perspective on how our bodies can be weak but our minds can still remain strong. Freda, the main character of Nephilim, is a giantess born to normal-sized parents due to a rare disease. Her mother often compares her and tells her stories about the Nephilim, a race descended from fallen angels and human women. “God was a blacksmith and his bones were iron. He drew them with a hammer” (Binder p. 1). Binder expresses Freda's condition beautifully here, connecting God with a blacksmith and his people as his creations, creating them in whatever shape or size he wants them to be. She never allows the reader to feel sorry for Freda, but rather expresses her illness in a mythic way. When a friend is needed most, Teddy, the neighborhood kid, comes into his life showing kindness and unafraid of his illness. She ends up hiring him to do basic tasks that she is no longer able to do because his condition makes movement painful and difficult. After the death of Freda's mother, Teddy really becomes the only human contact and companion she has. Over time, they become closer and we see his mobility decrease in favor of a cane or a walker, and his mobility increase by bicycle then by car. Freda's gradual physical decline shows a sense of normalcy that she strives to achieve. She wants to feel like everyone else, “we all come from the same place” (Binder p. 2). She doesn't want to be exceptional, she wants to be normal. Even though Teddy will eventually grow up and have to leave her like everyone else, for a while, they were able to help each other get through the environment. of paper ......pparent. When the baby saw Angela's face, she had no reaction, because babies are still so naive and they obviously don't care. Although the baby didn't notice anything different about Angela, the baby's mother did and she quickly took her baby away from Angela, clearly showing how her illness was slowly taking over her life. After reading these two stories, it becomes apparent how easily people are treated differently simply because they have certain visible deformities. Freda lives her life ashamed of her appearance and basically becomes a hermit in society. Both Angela and Freda experience the daily struggle of living with such a serious illness, forcing them to become stronger individuals. These two people started out with a fairly positive outlook on life and ended up being swallowed up by their illness, causing their solitary demise..