I grew up in a small, working class suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Back then, it was a great community to grow up in with safe streets and had a warm, small town feel. Everyone knew everyone, so when I heard one of our "local boys" had written a book a few years ago, I of course had to know who it was.
His name is John Quinn. He was a little older than me and went to school with my sister. He had grown up in the house three blocks down on my street: the one with the giant anchor in the front and the ice rink in the winter.
What on earth did a boy from Garden City have so special that he could write a book?
In that small town, where everyone knew everyone, John and his family had kept a secret. A secret that makes his story so special. I highly recommend you get his book, "Someone Like Me".
You see, John was born with Cerebral Palsy (CP), a neurological condition that affects the muscles and can interfere with balance, coordination and development due to a type of paralysis of the muscles that can lead to spasticity (involuntary jerking of the limbs).
John did not walk until he was three and half years old. Although he never gave up trying to keep up with his siblings, his parents knew something just wasn't right in his development.
When John was 11 years old, his older brother came home from Navy boot camp and changed John's life forever.
John could have grown up and taken a job close to home, you know, something that could be easier for him due to his "disability". Nope. John took one look at his brother and made an impossible, unbelievable, seemingly unattainable decision.
My original intent for this entry was to share John's story of fate and circumstance but something happened in between that changed my choice.
As I stated earlier, John was a few grades ahead of me and I didn't know him personally.On a whim, I emailed John through Facebook and asked his permission to share his story of inspiration. To my surprise, he wrote me back and gave me the go ahead. As we emailed a few times back and forth, he mentioned he would be coming to Washington D.C. Oct 4th to deliver a speech (I looked it up, he will be the keynote speaker at the Veteran's Administration Headquarters in D.C. to kickoff the National Disability Awareness Month) and do a book signing.
Hmmm, a circumstance? Fate?
It occurred to me that readers just might want to meet this inspirational veteran, motivational speaker and published author.
There is no way I can capture the true essence of John's incredible, inspirational story so I decided to give some basic information and encourage you to check out his book, "Someone Like Me".
Thank you John, for allowing me to share your story but most of all, for being a true inspiration of courage, hope and perseverance in reaching any goal a person sets their mind to!
To preview John's first chapter and learn more about this amazing man, please visit www.johnwquinn.com.
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