The Silent Journey
traces the path of lifelong teacher Michael J. Bellito, who had to give up his beloved profession after suffering a 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:
Michael J. Bellito wrote several novels before this memoir. He was a teacher for forty years. He taught English and speech classes for thirty-two years at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and also taught at Harper College. The author and his wife Joani have two children and five grandchildren. “Today, I can’t move my right arm (my dominant arm). I can barely move my right leg, but I get around with no trouble, and I walk a half mile every day, without a cane. God has been good to me.” (It was originally written in 2016.)