It's a New Life!: Mom is Gone

AN INSPIRING MEMOIR BY A DETERMINED PERSEVERING DISABLED MAN Steven Salmon, an author with severe Cerebral palsy, gives us a very personal in-depth look at his life in IT’S A NEW LIFE! MOM IS GONE. Raw, honest, and endearing, Steven writes movingly about the death of his mother, about the humiliations of ordinary life, his hopes and dreams, and his adjustment to living in a group home. Steven is unable to use his hands and uses Morse code to write, tapping out letters using his head. With a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Writing from the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point, and the author of five books, he often spends 10 to 12 hours a day writing 4 to 5 words a minute. Eight caregivers covering shifts 24/7 take care of Steven and his two housemates. Steven’s life turned upside down the night his mother suddenly died after a brief illness. After caring for Steven all of her life, he has to become a man overnight. His mother dedicated and sacrificed everything to allow Steven to pursue his dream to become an author. In this memoir, we see an aspiring author, grieving the loss of his mother while making big decisions for the first of his life. He is thrust into the world from his sheltered life. Steven hires a care agency to care for him, chooses a house to live in, adjusts to having care attendants taking care of his personal needs and living with two less than ideal roommates, and buries his mother. Often he writes through the night when the writing is flowing. Sometimes he has to wake up the overnight care attendant when one of his roommate calls to use the bathroom and Steven wants to go to bed. Nothing stops Steven. He is on a mission. Dreams are meant to happen, he keeps affirming. One of Steven’s ultimate dreams is to have relations with a woman. When he starts looking at houses to live in, Steven’s first question is, “Can I have women come over to have sex?” He is told yes, but later Steven learns from his case manager that his caregivers can’t call women or help him to get ready to have relations. It i