About the Book
Defining moments from the life of Joe Hemphill, who has lived with cerebral palsy for seventy years and who rides around town in a power wheelchair using the bike lanes. Joe writes about getting older and needing more help, while staying independent. He also looks back at where he has been and how he got to where he is today. This is a collection of Joe's stories, articles, essays, excerpts from unpublished novels, and letters to the editor of his local newspaper. This book includes recent thoughts and reflections about his current life and dealing with the idea of turning seventy years of age and what the future may hold. Some of these articles and short stories were written as far back as forty-five years ago. Joe includes them along with more current articles and stories to show how he has grown as a person, over the years, as well as how he has grown as a writer. There are journal entries from the year 2013, which deal with getting older, past relationships, and people who are no longer in his life. He talks about a traumatic hospital stay and adjusting to losing some of his independence for the sake of being safer and more secure living on his own and staying out of institutions. Many of the pieces have been published in local newspapers as articles and letters to the editor. Joe realizes that possibly hundreds of thousands of people in the extended circulation areas where he has lived, plus many more online, have read his articles and letters over the years. As you read this book, you will find a man who has cerebral palsy and is reflecting on his life as he is approaching seventy. He is a writer. He speaks of his editor and close friend, Linda. He wants to tell about his life, his adventures, and the pitfalls he has encountered along the way, in the hope of making it a little easier for other people like himself. He put together this collection of his writings to leave a record of his existence. This story is about a gentleman who needs help to do everything. He cannot even get a glass of water without help. Yet, he is concerned about others. He sees God around him. He also hopes that this book will help people to understand and be more compassionate to one another. He hopes to encourage people to make the world a better place. You will find a man involved with life in spite of his limitations. Joe has been a life-long learner and has dedicated much of his time to bettering the lives of other disabled people. And, in writing this book, he also hoped to further the understanding of people with cerebral palsy. His parents, through the strength of their love and dedication, gave him the self esteem to try everything and enjoy life. He hopes he has lived up to their dreams for what his life could be. Reading this book might help you decide if he was successful. This is the third book that Joe has published. The first one was, "Keeping Up With Jerry," and then he published, "It Has Been a Great Ride." With very limited resources, Joe has reached a vast number of people with his writing, his voice, and his opinions about life, being disabled, national politics, social justice, and how we should all treat each other. This has put him on an equal footing with everyone else in his community, this country, and the rest of the world. Not bad for a guy who can't walk, can't do very much of anything for himself, can't speak clearly, and had trouble learning to read. His parents would be proud, if they knew what their son has done with his life. Joe believes they do know.
About the Author: When Joe was four, he and his family, including his mom, dad, and his brother Larry, moved from Missouri to California. This was because his dad had heard that California had more opportunities for a child like Joe, who had cerebral palsy. His folks decided early on that Joe wasn't going to use his handicap to get his own way. Joe's dad passed away when Joe was twelve. He attended a special day school from the age of seven until he was seventeen. The people at the day school tried to help him walk and he tried three times to walk alone. But, he fell several times, which was scary, and the effort was too much. So, he decided to develop his mind by going to school and writing, rather than to put so much energy and effort into trying to walk. When Joe was in his late teens, it became very difficult for his mom to care for him. So, his family arranged for him to move into a care facility. The hardest thing Joe learned behind institution walls was that he would never learn to walk or speak clearly. Knowing there was more to life and with a driving spirit to achieve the best life possible, he wasn't ever happy there. Eventually, he got his own apartment through a subsidized program in the county where he lived. He has continued to live independently for over thirty years. He is currently seventy years old and lives in his own apartment in a complex dedicated to seniors and people with disabilities. Finally, living outside of institutions enabled Joe to attend college classes in writing. It also enabled him to publish the handicapped student newsletter at the college, meet people all over his community, have a girlfriend, hire and fire the people he required to take care of his needs, go on vacations with friends, pay his own bills, and manage his own life. He does have an uncanny knack of meeting people wherever he goes. He has email buddies, Skype pals, Facebook friends, local coffee bar people he chats with, local musicians he loves listening to, neighbors he visits, family, former care providers, teachers from his youth and more recently, and even strangers who seem to know who he is. Joe has been a life-long learner and has dedicated much of his time to bettering the lives of other disabled people. His parents, through the strength of their love and dedication, gave him the self-esteem to try everything and enjoy life. He hopes he has lived up to their dreams for what his life could be.
