HOUSTON -- For decades, Ron Berryhill hid an embarrassing secret. He was illiterate. Now the 65-year-old Houston man is learning to read.
Until now, Berryhill was too ashamed to tell anyone -- or to get help.
He managed to hide his illiteracy from his co-workers for 30 years.
"I was always in fear I was going to be caught, but I really didn't do anything about it until I retired at 59," Berryhill said.
It is a sad story, and a sadly common one.
Dexter Manley, an NFL star from Houston, shared the same secret. In 1989, he told his story to a Senate subcommittee on education.
"I had to humble myself and walk into the lab school," Manley said.
That's when Manley had to stop pretending.
And so did Byron Pitts, a correspondent for the CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes.
Pitts didn't learn to read until he was 12 years old.
"I had one teacher tell me I was a moron," Pitts remembered. "I had another man in my neighborhood call me a bum. He says, 'You can't read, you can't talk, you are going to be a bum.' That was painful."
It is estimated 30 million adults are functionally illiterate in the United States.
"Low-functioning literacy is difficulty in the workplace, difficulty looking at a map," said Melanie Fisk, Deputy Director with Literacy Advance.
That's where Ron Berryhill is learning how to read.
There are no figures on how many people in the Houston area can't read, but the 18 Literacy Advance centers can't keep up with demand.
"We have not gone under a wait list of 300 and sometimes that maxes out to 500," Fisk said.
Illiteracy is at the core of many social problems like crime, early pregnancy and joblessness.
According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 85 percent of young Americans who come through the juvenile court system are illiterate.
Shame, no doubt, keeps thousands from getting help.
Berryhill waited more than 40 years. He estimates he's now reading at a 5th grade level, but getting better.
Dexter Manley finally learned to read.
And Byron Pitts not only learned to read, but now makes a very good living reading. He has even written a book about his journey from illiteracy to network correspondent.
"With so many people in our country who can't read, all the educators who worked with people like me, I wanted them to know I had struggles, I got past it and they can get past it as well," Pitts said.
For those who can't read, Pitts' life demonstrates how far you can go if you are willing to take the first step and get help.
