The Silent Journey (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781681817286)

The Silent Journey traces the path of lifelong teacher Michael J. Bellito, who had to give up his beloved profession after suffering a major stroke.

"I had a stroke on August 17, 2012," he says.

"My whole right side was paralyzed, plus I had the inability to talk. I was only 62 years old, ready to start my forty-first year of teaching. Ironically, I taught speech as well as English. I couldn't talk at all. Pretty wild for a speech teacher.

"It changed my life forever. I could either give up trying or make every day a new day. I chose the latter. With a whole group of therapists, I learned to walk and talk again, and to use my left hand exclusively. I learned to write and type this book with my left hand.

"This is a non-fiction, narrative book, which describes the agony I went through at first, and the relief I felt after two years at being able to come back."

About the Author: Former teacher Michael J. Bellito believes "Jesus had a purpose for us to be there. There was something I had to learn from this life-altering change, something I must learn about what I could or should do. This was the time I asked questions about anything, if I could get them out. The frustration about not being able to talk was mind-bending. I knew what I wanted to say, if I could just say it." (It was originally written in 2016.)