Kirjahaku

I'm not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me. Aimee Mullins The Abolition, Religious Freedom, Civil Rights, Women's Suffrage, Anti-Poverty, Labor, Right to Life, LGBT, Peace, Anti-War, Veterans, Differently Challenged and Black Lives Matter Movements, were and are all about the same thing, the right of every human to respect, dignity, fair and equal treatment before the law and freedom. So though the focus of this book is about the "Wheel Life of Dionte Christian," who was born with cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and survived a vicious attack on his life at just eleven years old, it highlights the resilience of the human spirit. It is about champions of every color, nationality, faith, class and ability which Dionte calls his brothers and sisters. Dionte asked me to write this book for him because he wants to take the pain of his life and struggles, and use it to help others heal. He decided in the Winter of 2020 that his salvation lies in dedicating his life and gifts to the liberation of the disabled, addicted and depressed from the tyranny of feelings of self-defeat, suicidal ideation and loneliness. He knows that in order to maintain his own sobriety and sanity, he must reach out to those who still suffer with the diseases of addiction, mental illness and depression as well as physical challenges. At the same time it is a Public Education Tool meant to inform everyone about how to best respect the dignity of the physically and mentally challenged in a way that includes them and not exclude them. Dionte lives in Westchester, Illinois. He graduated from Proviso West High School 2008. Completed one year study of Computer Technology at Triton Community College 2009. He frequently volunteers at Shirley Ryan's Ability Lab and has previously been a volunteer at Easter Seals. His goal is to share his faith, hope and experience with others who are struggling with depression, addictions and physical challenges. Hit him up at [email protected], to schedule his appearance at your venue.

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." --Friedrich NietzscheA great tragedy of modern-day life is the fact that we seek a how to live before we have a why to live and we teach our children how to live without helping them first discover a why to live for, not knowing that when they and we have a why, the how will take care of itself. This book is my attempt to help people, especially the young, to discover the why of their existence. Arming people with the answer to this question is the most effective way I know to help stop the senseless violence that takes place in our society all too often. At the same time, I want to address the argument that life is so hard for our young black men that is why they sell drugs and commit other crimes as it is the only means they have to feed themselves and their families. As bad as things are for many of our inner-city youth, I don't believe they need less challenges but more, for the simple reason that it is obvious that the ones they currently face are not succeeding in drawing the best and champions out of them. And this is ultimately what every challenge should do no matter how tough it is or poor you are. Kids are not selling drugs on the corner because life is hard for them; they are doing so because that is the easiest thing for them to do versus going out and working a steady job eight hours a day. So don't tell me how unfortunate kids are today to have so many challenges. When I was growing up, I was told that "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going." What has taken the place of this saying in this generation is the belief that "desperate times call for desperate measures." Desperate measures are not always the wisest choice of actions. What the youth today is doing to survive is desperate, but it is not truly necessary; in most cases, it is just convenient.Danny has been certified by Toastmasters International as a competent public speaker (1991 East Moline). He received his GED from the Chicago City Colleges (1981) and obtained a certificate in graphic arts from Southeastern Illinois College (1987). He is a former member of the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party. He spent twenty years in prison and ten in the Elgin Mental Health Center. While in the hospital, he wrote over eight hundred poems, three books of daily meditations, and numerous speeches and Afrocentric anecdotes. He also acted as a mentor for younger consumers while there, leading his own peer-support groups and chairing GROW for four years (2003-07). He has been clean of all illegal drugs for fourteen years.Since getting out of the hospital in 2013, he has written seven books: A Ten Part Book to Maximizing Your Potential; Life Poems; Three-Part Process to Breaking the Recidivism Cycle; Young, Gifted and Black; Redeeming the Time; Let Them Eat Cake; and The 50 Most Positive Things I Know About African Americans.Danny's mission is to provide others who have struggled with addictions and mental illnesses and a history of going back and forth to prison with a better image of what they can be with the use of faith and a meaningful life purpose as a guide.You can contact him for workshops and testimonies at [email protected].

The Public Service Campaign, "If you see something, say something," was started after 911. I have seen things I do not think are kosher for too long without saying anything. My silence ends with this book. I have seen too many people being made to feel like they do not belong because they march to the beat of their own drum and stand opposed to the status quo. I am talking about the so-called minorities, the physically and mentally challenged, the poor and uneducated, those battling addictions, the old, the young, those to the religious left and right, as well as those in the LGBT community, and a marid of other individuals and groups who do not fit with the in crowd. It has almost gotten to the point that the only people welcome to the party are those who put a gag on their mouth and will do anything to fit in; hesitant to rock the boat, for fear of persecution. My goal with the writing of this book is to blow the trumpet to announce that it is time we start to do more hugging than judging each other. I am tired of seeing people hurt simply because they do not fit into the cookie cutter role and place society and tradition says they belong in. If I refuse to hug you, I have no right to judge you. The same goes for those who refuse to hug me because I am Black, a father, son, brother, uncle, have mental, emotional and spiritual challenges, battling addiction, loneliness, and uncertainty, homeless, am a returning citizen, unapologetically male and a follower of Jesus Christ, American and most importantly a free thinker. If you can find any reason not to hug me or I attempt to find a reason not to hug you, neither of us have the right to judge or say anything about the other. I am completing this book while I reside at City View Multicare Center in Cicero, where I was blessed to find housing after being homeless for two years, as the result of a mental and drug relapse. I am thankful to the staff and residents here who have welcomed me into their midst with open arms. I pray that they will take a chance to read it and be encouraged to love and hug themselves as well as others every day. Though nursing homes are typically thought of as places of abandonment, there is a prevailing sense of family here at City View, which I am privileged to be a part of and supported by. Their Motto is, "Heroes live here and work here," and it is true in every sense of the word. Who knows, if we all did a little more hugging and a lot less judging, we may find that many of our problems will go away.

"Wounded humans and feelings of victimization are more common than the common cold." The abuse and betrayal of our trust takes many forms, it happens in the form of sexual and emotional abuse, molestation, infidelity, neglect, abandonment, four-hundred years of systemic racism, and other crimes, just to name a few examples of the ravishing of our most sacred possession -- our trust. There probably is not a person on this earth who has not been wounded in some form. If you have not been wounded, I am sure you know someone who has. Therefore, this book can be helpful to everyone who wants to get past being wounded, and begin the process of healing. If this sounds like something you want to undertake, I encourage you to take out some time for yourself to do for you, what only you can, namely, "Heal thy self." There are as many families, communities, nations, and races as there are individuals who need healing from the abuse and betrayal of their trust. Thus, this book can be used as a tool for treating individual and collective wounds, as well as erasing generational curses. Danny has been certified by Toastmasters International as a competent Public Speaker (1991 East Moline). He received his GED from the Chicago City Colleges (1981) and obtained a certificate in Graphic Arts from Southeastern Illinois College (1987). He is a former member of the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party. He spent twenty years in prison and ten in Elgin Mental Health Center. While in the hospital he wrote over eight-hundred poems, three books of daily meditations, and numerous speeches and Afro-centric anecdotes. He also acted as a mentor for younger consumers while there, leading his own peer-support groups and chairing GROW for four years (2003-07). You can contact him at [email protected], for an appearance at your venue.

The Miracle of Belief Occurs Before The Miracle of Transformation" I wrote this book with all the mothers and fathers who are sometimes at a lost as to how to best guide their children through the difficult experiences of childhood and young adulthood in mind. Parenting is one of those assignments that is worth doing poorly at first, until you get better at the awesome privilege it is to nurture the souls, Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14 (KJV). Parenting is the one job we do not want to get wrong, yet the reality is that we usually are not aware of our mistakes with our children until after we have made them. God knows I am probably the last person who should be offering anyone advice on parenting, because of all the mistakes I made as a father. I nevertheless persist in this endeavour because of what the former Prime Minister of Great Britain said about the benefits of mistakes -- "No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes." Only what we put into raising our children can we expect to see them manifest. It is my hope that this small book, which features just a few of the lessons I have learned from the mistakes I have made and continue to make as a father, will help other parents become better at the job of nurturing the next generation of leaders and achievers

"Freedom is not free," it took me nearly forty-years to realize this fact about freedom. It was not until I fully embraced the grace and love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, that I experienced true freedom. This book gives a concise description of the byways and highways I took in order to arrive at the point in my life where I could honestly say, "FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I AM FREE AT LAST " In the course of me going from a man who spent 3/5th of his life behind prison bars and insane asylum fences. I can tell you that freedom was wasted on me as long as I took it for granted. I was delivered from all the mental, emotional and spiritual shackles that held me bound, the day I gave my life over to God. Now I can declare that I not only talk about the joy of being free, but can also testify that there is no more liberating freedom than that which comes with Christs' blood bought Salvation, and the peace of mind that the Father gives all those "whose mind is stayed on Him." It is my belief that none of us can get the full benefit out of freedom in its true form until we understand that, "The One we serve determines the rewards we get for our servitude." The reality is, that as long as we live on this earth, we are going to serve either God and Jesus, or Satan and our flesh. Trust me when I tell you, "Your life will be a hundred times better off if you commit yourself to being in the will of God." I hope that you will read my testimony as it is summed up in this small book, and know that what Jesus did for me, once I accepted the freedom he purchased for me on the Cross of Calvary, he will do the same thing for you.

The two most powerful words in the world are, "I AM," for anything we say after, I AM, we will believe and make come true, as we truly are whatever we say we are. If we say we are victors over this virus, we will prove it by conquering it with the faith and wisdom God gives us. Four other words that are as powerful as "I AM," are, "I believe in you." These four words have helped shepherd boys bring down giants and dreamers to shape history. What we believe about ourselves and each other is what is going to get us through this crisis. We have been commanded by God to speak to the mountain we want moved out of our way. This is a book that speaks to the warrior in every man, woman and child that is threatened by the Coronavirus or any other stealer of life. In times of trouble and darkness a standard must always be raised up to lead the people in battle. I perceive this book as being a beacon to guide us safely through this storm. No enemy prevails over the wall of our faith, for as he tries to scale its walls, we raise our faith to a higher level, forever determined to not let him supersede it. For every attack of the enemy we have a defense under the cover of God's wing, which holds us as close to Him as He is to us. The right words at the right time can always spark a new hope and outlook for anyone who is being tried by adversity. This book may not stop this pandemic but I believe it can give us a reason to believe that it will be brought to an end soon enough. Just as we have gathered around the camp fire and fireplace in the past while the vigil candle burned in the window, we can gather around the words of this book to draw comfort and encouragement from people who know what it is to be tried by fire without being consumed. This is a small book but the inspiring quotes and mediations in it are big, they can do the soul good like a medicine if we take them with a little a faith in the strength they offer.