For the third year in a row, blind and physically disabled 24-year-old author
Shirley Cheng is one of the winners in Be the Star You Are! National Essay Contest, this time receiving Honorable Mention for her heartfelt piece, My Mother: A Fighter, a Victor, a Lover, which applauds her stellar mother Juliet Cheng for being a courageous and loving fighter to protect her life at all costs.
"My beloved mother Juliet Cheng is a fighter, a victor, but above all, she is a lover. I am darn proud to have her as my mother," is how Cheng starts her winning entry. "Since I am severely physically disabled with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, my mother has not only stood up for me countless times, but she has also saved my life on numerous occasions."
"What can I possibly say to express how I feel right now?" says Cheng. "Let's just say I'm dancing on Cloud Nine. Earning Honorable Mention means a lot to me, not just because it is an honor itself but because my essay honors my mother and it's important to let the whole world knows what a truly loving human being is all about."
"She constantly shows me her unconditional love and unwavering support by protecting my life using her wits and guts, not by simply telling me of her love (though she does that quite a bit, too)," is what Cheng further wrote in her essay. Juliet used her wits and guts to battle and win the horrifying custody case against a Connecticut doctor after refusing harmful treatment—the story told in Cheng's essay. "And won the case she did, but only after five long months of fighting in court and sheer terror; after appearing on CBS This Morning show with Paula Zahn and being interviewed by major media outlets, including The Associated Press and the New York Times; and after I vomited blood and became all skin and bones under the doctor's 'care,' which consisted of administration of naproxen to me on an empty stomach and frequent x-rays and blood tests, at times weekly."
"Moreover, it's about fighting for justice," says Cheng, whose forthcoming release is a parental rights in children's medical care advocacy book to help today's loving parents protect and keep custody of the children of our future. "When doctors ask yes or no, parents should have the right to say no."
Cheng's entry can be read on her website at http://www.shirleycheng.com
Previously, in 2006, Cheng tied for 1st place in the national Be the Star You Are! Second Annual Essay Contest 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, The Jewel from Heavenly Father, is also dedicated to her beloved mother. In the following year, Cheng received Honorable Mention for her essay, I Hold the Power, her personal story of overcoming blindness at the age of seventeen.
Shirley Cheng (b. 1983), a blind and physically disabled award-winning author, motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet, author of seven books, contributing author of ten books, and a parental rights advocate, 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.
Cheng is the author of the 3-time award winner Waking Spirit: Prose & Poems the Spirit Sings (with foreword by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Brian), a heartfelt collection that explores a world of dancing hearts, singing spirits, with infinite love from life (ISBN: 9780615136806 paperback; 9780615138930 hardback); Embrace Ultra-Ability! Wisdom, Insight & Motivation from the Blind Who Sees Far and Wide, a self-empowerment book to empower the readers to empower themselves (ISBN: 9780615155227); 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 20-Year Victories over Victimization (foreword by Cynthia Brian) (ISBN: 9780615150444); 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).
Waking Spirit is an award-winning finalist in the national Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards in the new age nonfiction category, Honorable Mention in the 2007 New York Book Festival in the poetry category, as well as Honorable Mention in the 2007 DIY Book Festival in the poetry category.
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 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.
Cheng is available for interviews, speaking engagements, book signings, and inspirational events. Visit http://www.shirleycheng.com
