This book contains a collection of many of the poems, short stories, essays, articles, and letters that Joe Hemphill wrote between 1960 and 2011. Joe is a prolific writer, despite the fact that he was born with cerebral palsy and has dealt with multiple and profound disabilities all of his life. Joe hopes this book will provide insight into one man's quest to live his life to the fullest, even from a wheelchair. In Joe's writings, you will find unusual insights. The stories, essays, articles, and poems in this book reflect the experiences that have shaped who Joe is and how he approaches life. Joe has faced life with determination and he has made the best of every situation. He has reached out to both people with and without disabilities. You will find humor, inspiration, hope, perseverance, courage that will make you laugh and cry. He started writing in elementary school and writing has been the focus of his life ever since. He realized that he didn't have to be able to walk in order to be able to write stories. Writing takes a great deal of effort, time, and energy, but 200 words is just a warm up for Joe. With the help of teachers, friends, and care providers, he lives independently, listens to books on CD and on his computer, writes a column for the local United Cerebral Palsy agency, and submits letters to the editor. He also goes for long rides around town in his power wheelchair and has friends who read his poetry during local open mike nights. The author: I was born with cerebral palsy. My folks decided early on that I wasn't going to use my handicap to get my way. They wanted me to be independent and experience everything I could. I lived at home until I was 17. After that, I lived in institutions until I was 30. At 30, I moved into my own apartment. Living outside of institutions enabled me to attend college classes in writing. It also enabled me to meet people all over my community, have a girlfriend, go on vacations with friends, and manage my own life. I am currently in my late sixties and live in my own apartment in a complex dedicated to seniors and people with disabilities. I have been writing since I was nine years old. Also published by Joe Hemphill, in 2010, is Keeping Up With Jerry, about many of the people in Joe's life. It Has Been A Great Ride and I am still out there cruising.

How do you let the world know that you have a strong personality and ideas about many subjects? How do you express your opinions, needs, and desires? You tell people or write them down. But, what if you cannot speak clearly, cannot use your hands to write or pick things up, cannot take care of yourself or do the smallest task on your own? How do you then express yourself and get your needs met? People with cerebral palsy face some or all of the issues above, depending upon how severe their cerebral palsy is. Cerebral palsy happens when sufficient oxygen does not reach the brain for a prolonged period of time. This usually happens at or during the birth process. Everyone can have a slightly or profoundly different outcome and severity of disability. Some experience developmental disabilities. Some with cerebral palsy are able to walk and some are not. It is the same with speech and using their hands to do the simple everyday tasks that most people just do without thinking. This book is about Jerry who has had cerebral palsy from birth and has faced the challenges of expressing himself and getting his needs met from the people around him. It is also about all the people who have come in and out of his life. The author of Jerry's story based this book upon his own experiences of living life with the challenges of cerebral palsy. During his childhood, his family was there to help him grow up strong and independent. When he was a young adult, the people around him quite often got in the way of his growth and aspirations. In his later years, while living independently, he didn't back down from the many challenges that came his way. Jerry has insisted throughout his life that everyone acknowledge him as the strong, involved, caring, and well-rounded individual that he is. You will see the role that each person in his life has played in allowing Jerry to have his personality shine through his profound disabilities.