I Wish to Live Life (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781796075687)

Doris Washington is a spiritual writer, author, poet, and disability advocate who resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with her husband and son John. Doris takes the inspiration for her poetry from an unfortunate incident involving her 18-year-old son with autism and two police officers in December 1993. Her son was peeking in a window of his own home when two officers approached him. The two officers held her son on the ground with handcuffs, and he suffered a separated shoulder. The two officers were not aware of her son's disability. This unfortunate incident impacted Doris'life greatly. She was empowered to advocate for a statewide training program for police officers to be aware of and recognize persons with special needs. And it was through this painful period in Doris' life her writing began. Doris has found peace and healing through her poetry. Her husband is her anchor of support and best friend. Her son is her inspiration to write. She has written over 600 poems. In 1997 she wrote her first poem Invisible. She writes poems about her closeness with God, spirituality, autism awareness, inspirations, positive thinking, social issues in our world, and greetings. She is an entrepreneur of DORIS'POEMS. She does readings at nursing homes, residential home facilities, churches, schools, and community. She has self-published seven books of poems A Blessing, Caring & Sharing and Faith, Hope & Love, The Joy In The Morning And A New Day Begins / A Time, A Season and Always Love / The Beauty of Love / This Day Today/ Where There's Hope- There's Love. Her book, A Blessing, Caring & Sharing has received much writing achievement success such as: the listing in The NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS MAGAZINE in 2008, and its achievement of commercial success that was posted in the Scripps College Newsletter in Claremont, California in February 2011. Doris also received a letter of acknowledgement from President Barack Obama in April 2009 for her poem This Day, A Promise, A Dream Fulfilled, that she wrote in honor of President Obama. She has also received letters of acknowledgement for her poem The Sun Still Shines In The Morning from Mayor Michael Bloomberg in honor of September 11, 2001, and the poem is submitted in the 911 Memorial Museum of New York. Also she has received a letter of acknowledgement from former President Bill Clinton for her poem For The Children that she dedicated for the people of Haiti Earthquake Relief in March 2010. She has also been honored to receive the Inspirational Leader Award of 2013 for her contributions of her poetry as an inspiration to others in her community and around the country by leaders in the Greater Harrisburg Region. With her newly released and eight book collection of poems, I Wish To Live Life, she shares poems that are many of her readers and her favorites, as well as poems of tribute to those who inspire her, such as; The Conductor, tribute to Harriett Tubman. She is currently doing book signings at many Barnes & Noble locations across the country. Doris continues to travel to numerous book signings over 500 book signings to date. Her desire hopes her poems will continue to inspire many all over the world.