I once had an unforgettable job. Each day, I had to disinfect a padded cell (timeout room) in which folks with disabilities were locked when they acted out. In this day of advanced behavior modification, I couldn’t believe such a room still existed. Then after a nearly-fatal cerebral aneurysm and stroke in 2004, I was placed in a 24-hour wake staffed agency residence. I advocated my way back into my apartment after seven weeks there.

This experience prompted me to write my first version of my current memoir, My Escape from a Padded Cell. I discussed surviving nearly fatal chronic asthma at infancy, experiencing a permanent memory disability at age ten, having my vision permanently compromised at age fourteen, almost committing suicide after I graduated college, then inviting the Lord Jesus into my life when I was twenty-three. Other chapters discuss how I adapted to my brain injury getting through high school and college, ways I have adapted to my disability living on my own and in jobs I have had. And I included one chapter about how I fell in love with my wife, Cheryl. I am considering adding an additional chapter about how I have been forced to adapt to ever-deteriorating vision loss over the years. But through it all, my positive attitude pervades.

If you are interested in my story, please feel free to read excerpts at https://www.amazon.com. It sells for $16.00.