The Silent Journey

<p><em>The Silent Journey </em>traces the path of lifelong teacher Michael J. Bellito who had to give up his beloved profession after suffering a stroke.</p><p>“I had a stroke on August 17 2012” he says.</p><p>“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.</p><p>“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.</p><p>“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.”</p><p><strong>About the Author: </strong>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.)</p>