Golden Heart: Bahamas Short Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781978207530)

Michael Wells was born in 1962 in Nassau, Bahamas and has published five magazines and seven books of short stories. Due to a difficult birth, he was born with cerebral palsy so has spent his life in a wheelchair, with limited control of his voice. As a child he wanted to learn how to read, but because of his disability no school would accept him. He started watching "Sesame Street" and learned words from that children's television show. When he knew enough words, he got a book and started reading it. His father would help him with words he didn't understand. Then his late Uncle Kendrick Williams ordered a course in journalism and creative writing for him. When Michael was twenty-four years old, Fruzan Bethell, a speech therapist with the Ministry of Education, attached a unicorn stick to his head and put an alphabet in front of him. Using small head movements, he was able to type out a sentence that said: "I am not a dummy"! This was his first communication using a computer. Later, award winning Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer made a documentary film about him and gave it the title: "I am not a dummy". Today Michael types using a laser-like dot stuck on his forehead that communicates with a device on top of the monitor. Small movements of his head move a cursor over the screen. Michael once wrote: "It would have been easy for me to just sit and complain and talk about how I can't get ahead in life because I'm physically challenged and depend on others for financial support. But why should I? Why should I be content with my situation?" And on another occasion: "There will be people who tell you that you can't do it. Just block the negative people out and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal." He is grateful for the support he has received from his family, friends and church.