“Falling on the Bright Side”
Like its residents, Larry is not thrilled to be working at a last-stop warehouse, and he hardly notices the human spirit flowing around him. Then he meets Bill, a clinical psychologist, lying comatose after a left hemisphere stroke, as his patient, Philip, listens to his moans. Through Philip’s understanding of Bill’s mutterings, an unlikely collaboration begins between Larry and Bill. With his wife and son out of town, covering Bill’s counseling practice rejuvenates Larry confidence as a therapist and—at the nursing home—he starts to see residents and staff as fellow human beings.But old traumas (the drowning death of his brother and the disappearance of his father) run deep. Each step leads to further pitfalls.This is a novel about disability and the human depth that is left behind after the loss of physical and cognitive faculties. It is also a book about the power of forgiveness.
Synopsis | Read First Chapter
To purchase this book, please contact the author at mgray@nmia.com.
“Asleep at the Wheel of Time”
In “Asleep at the Wheel of Time” author Michael Gray uses the vehicle of a Science Fiction action story to raise questions about our treatment of Earth and the fellow beings with whom we share it. The cast of characters includes humans, whales, dolphins, and aliens, who are attempting to contact humanity because a comet is threatening their long-time friends, the cetaceans. Michael lives with his family in Albuquerque, where he works with individuals afflicted with ALS and MS through Friends In Time, a non-profit he co-founded 20 years ago. He also works with Pathways Academy, a school that serves kids with Autism and learning issues, as Board President. He has published stories, poetry and essays, and Asleep now joins his memoir The Flying Caterpillar (also ABQ Press 2012) as his second published book.
Synopsis | Read First Chapter
To purchase this book, please contact the author at mgray@nmia.com.
“The Flying Caterpillar”
Michael Gray’s memoir begins “When I was two years old I drowned” in the frigid waters of Lake Ontario. It goes on to reflect upon the life he has lived and the opportunities he has been given since that fateful day. Time soon emerges as a character in his story. A few milestones along the way have been his attendance at a transformative six-month retreat at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley and when, at the age of 48, he added “Husband & Father” to his resume. Eventually his journey led him to Albuquerque, New Mexico where in the early 90’s, together with a friend who has ALS, he co-founded “Friends in Time”, a non-profit that serves people with the neuromuscular diseases of MS & ALS. Michael has published short stories, poetry, and articles in the Antigonish and Wascana Reviews, in Gesar magazine, and in the “Time, Space, Knowledge” Perspectives volume, A New Way of Being.
Synopsis | Read First Chapter
To purchase this book, please contact the author at mgray@nmia.com.