The 2007 DIY Book Festival awarded the title of honorable mention to Waking Spirit: Prose & Poems the Spirit Sings by
Shirley Cheng, her third accolade for this book.
"What can I possibly say this time?" says Cheng, a blind and physically disabled 24-year-old author and motivational speaker. "Last time, I said I was floating on Cloud Nine. Well, let's say I'm dancing on it now."
Waking Spirit's last two accolades are an award-winning finalist in the national Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards and an honorable mention in the 2007 New York Book Festival.
"Waking Spirit celebrates life while encouraging us all to appreciate
what we already have. It's a book of survival, a tome of devotion, a
bible of being," wrote New York Times bestselling author, Cynthia
Brian, in the foreword. "Serve yourself a big helping of Shirley
Cheng's inspiration and you'll be motivated to shoot for the stars."
ISBN: 9780615136806 paperback; 9780615138930 hardback
140 pages
Released in May 2007; available through Ingram, from Amazon.com and
BN.com, and autographed copies from www.ShirleyCheng.com
"An inspirational miscellany from one of the braver souls on the
planet...a menagerie of lyrics, haiku, short personal essays and even
briefer aphoristic words to live by—all on the theme of leaping over
seemingly insurmountable hurdles..." —Kirkus Discoveries
"This book is an amazing read by an amazing person. Her writing is
very accessible and enjoyable as she 'shows without telling,' without
arrogance or preachiness...an expression of
joy...wonder...passion...teaches simple truths..." —ForeWord CLARION
Reviews
"Her wisdom and captivating writing style reveals a rare beauty of the
heart. Humorous haiku blends effortlessly with devotional selections
as quotes sing a wisdom we want to hear and live." —The Rebecca
Review, Top Ten Amazon.com Reviewer
"...a masterpiece... The Positive Thinker sees the invisible, feels the
intangible and achieves the impossible. That is what Shirley is all
about!" —Ken Bossone, President of World Positive Thinkers Club
"Shirley is an excellent thought-provoking writer...with a charm and
intelligence that would make anyone envious. Her inspiration and never
ending strive to see all good in life is rare and commendable..."
—Dorothy Lafrinere, WomensSelfEsteem.com
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning
author, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet, author of
six books, and contributing author of ten books, has had severe
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since infancy. Owing to years of
hospitalization, she received no education until age eleven. However,
after only about 180 days of special education in elementary school,
she mastered grade level in all areas and entered a regular sixth
grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, Cheng lost her eyesight
at the age of seventeen. After a successful eye surgery, she hopes to
earn multiple science doctorates from Harvard University.
"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled,
I can climb high mountains," says Cheng. "Let the ropes of hope haul
you high!"
Cheng is also the author of Daring Quests of Mystics, a soothing read
to relax the mind, body, and spirit (ISBN: 9781411656642); an
empowering 700-page autobiography, The Revelation of a Star's Endless
Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials and
Tribulations (ISBN: 9781411618602); and Dance with Your Heart: Tales
and Poems That the Heart Tells, an anthology of inspirational and
fantasy short stories (fairy tales, fables, and myths) and poems for
the heart from the heart (ISBN: 9781411618589).
With highly acclaimed experts like Dr. Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, and
Brian Tracy, Cheng co-authored Wake Up...Live the Life You Love:
Finding Life's Passion, the latest installment in the bestselling Wake
Up...Live the Life You Love series; she is also the co-author of 101
Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2, along with leading experts
Jack Canfield, John Gray, Richard Carlson, Alan Cohen, Bob Proctor, et
al.
Cheng is also an advocate of parental rights in children's medical
care, and aide/caregiver monitoring and screening for students with
special needs and disabled people. As a parental rights advocate, she
wants to help today's loving parents protect and keep custody of their
children. "When doctors ask yes or no, parents should have the right
to say no," says Cheng, who is the survivor of the 1990 five-month
internationally broadcast news of mother Juliet Cheng's custody battle
with a doctor. Juliet was on CBS This Morning with Paula Zahn.
Cheng promotes aide advocacy for the disabled because she was
mistreated and abused by one-to-one aides when she attended school.
"The trouble with the uncaring aides actually lies with the
authorities," she says. "If they listened to my complaints and kept a
close watch on the aides, I wouldn't have gone through all the
suffering."
She had been published twice before her writing career. One of her
short stories, Mary Miller, the Elusive Lady, received Honorable
Mention and was published by the Poughkeepsie Journal in 1997, and a
poem, The Colors of the Rainbow, earned merit status and was published
in Celebrate! New York Young Poets Speak Out in 1999.
In 2006, Cheng tied for 1st place in the national writing contest for
Be the Star You Are! founded by New York Times bestselling author,
TV/radio personality Cynthia Brian, garnering her a third appearance
on Cynthia's live radio show. Cheng's winning entry, titled The Jewel
from Heavenly Father, is dedicated to her beloved mother Juliet Cheng.
In 2007, Cheng received Honorable Mention in the same contest for her
essay, I Hold the Power, her personal story of overcoming blindness at
the age of seventeen.
Cheng is available for interviews, speaking engagements, book
signings, and inspirational events. She has been on over twenty radio
shows, including Be the Star You Are! for three times, The Donna Seebo
Show, and Stu Taylor on Business. She was featured in World Journal,
the largest Chinese national newspaper in North America, in July of
2004.
