A Dream Fulfilled
It’s not often you witness someone fulfilling a dream.
I had that chance this afternoon.
Lon Michael struggled throughout his young life. It started with panic attacks. He had difficulties learning and talking with people. He became isolated and alone. He hid the truth from his parents and suffered in silence. His grades plummeted.
Lon knew something was wrong with him, but he didn’t know what. Finally, in tenth grade, Lon tried to describe his experience to his mother, Karen. “Yes, I can hear words, but I am hearing everything else all around me too, all at the same time.”
Be it the words of a teacher, a pencil scratching across a page, the heater running—all sounds carried the same decibel level to Lon. He tried to decipher what was being said, but most words were lost in the noise.
Fate stepped in, and Karen remembered a field trip where she had taken her third-grade students to a local children’s museum focused on disabilities four years earlier. There she donned headphones and experienced what people with auditory processing disorder heard.
Karen now knew what Lon experienced every day of his life, and the two of them began the long journey of finding help and Lon learning how to live with this disability.
Lon and Karen spent years writing and revising his book under the guidance of editor Teresa Bruce. At the end of that process, I turned their hard work into a published book.
This afternoon, Lon launched the story of his journey, In the Eyes of the Statue, to a group of family, friends, and supporters, and I had the privilege of witnessing Lon’s dream come true.
From In the Eyes of the Statue, Lon writes, “I wrote this book to explain about people with invisible disabilities—from the point of view from someone who has one—and the effect they have on people’s lives.
“I wrote this book to help people with disabilities know that they are not inferior, that their disability is not their fault, and that they definitely are not bad people.
“I also want to help people who are lucky enough not to have a disability to better understand those who do.”
Well said, Lon.
If you’d like to purchase a copy of In the Eyes of the Statue, you can do so on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and most other booksellers.
Do you dream of having a book launch one day? What would that launch look like? Share your vision with us in the comments section below, and let us watch it come true.
Until next time, happy writing.
If you’ve thought about joining our Life Writers membership, now’s a great time to check it out. We begin studying a new memoir this week.
Please note: All grammatical and typographical errors have been put in this article for
your enjoyment in finding them.
I’m looking forward to that day. In preparation, I already have a launch team put together and welcome others who would like to join my team. Just let me know. Thanks!
Lon, Your dream-through your eyes- is now shared with thousands of children with disabilities giving them a dream of hope and a new enjoyment of life. What a gift to humanity. Congratulations
I would order copies of my book, contact my local book store to set up a date, organize some prizes and refreshments, invite people and media….
Congratulations on completing your project with Lon Michael.
I enjoyed the anthology book launch very much…but then I might have been a little biased since it was all Life Writers. 🙂