Using Lynn’s story, from the book: Marathon Tools

“Marathon Tools” took years to write. I started writing it after meeting Lynn from Detroit, on-line in 2004. In Lynn’s case, she was brutally abused by her husband––a broken nick led her to a two-year hospital stay and rehabilitation. She had to relearn everything all over again. Incredible as it seems, she did find a way to regain her mental facilities watching, and them becoming, a fan of the Detroit Tigers. It is a great story of how cheering for the Tigers brought her back to reality.

At the time I met Lynn, I was a middle-aged man, a struggling artist, who was under pressure myself… the ship was going down with no one at the helm. Refusing to give up, after I found myself divorced and alone, I ventured onto the Internet dating scene and went on several hilarious bad dates---Meanwhile, by accident, I met Lynn. She convinced me to come over to her apartment spontaneously: she needed friends and would do anything to meet them. I walked up to her door.

She answered.

I was surprised to find that she had been hiding a disability from me.

She tried to cover it up, but had to give herself up and unveil her disguise, when she turned to walk away from the door, it became obvious, that she was forced to grab something, to keep from falling.

She started to cry.

Totally caught off guard, my heart choked up, and I said, “Don’t walk away, I... it’s just not...”

She interrupted, “I know... you want to go, like all the rest!”

“Don’t put words in my mouth; you don’t know how I feel. Why don’t we sit here and talk a while?”

We have been friends ever since.

Book signings for Marathon Stories.

After spending two years traveling around the country with my book, doing book signings and speaking. I have found that many who have visited my events have told me stories about life, stories of what happened to the many who suffered huge changes in their life and want to learn how to write.

We will teach and prepare them and match them with a writer to work with.

Weather it is someone who lost an arm in Iraq or someone in a recent auto accident or anyone who is physically challenged and are looking to change their life and/or looking for something new to do. We want to help them find that voice and that new career or hobby.

Put on Marathon Races for everyone including the disabled.

Within the book, Heather (Lynn) becomes a champion wheelchair marathoner. We would like to use donations to help disabled people everywhere and put on special races for all kinds of disabled groups. A list is now being assembled for dates and cities across the country and beyond.

Foundation will use 50% of profits from publishing and selling books for purchasing equipment and transportation for disabled.

Fifty percent of all book sales from the publishing of these books, from all the participants will go back into the charity. Marathon Publishing will be the name of this new publishing company that will operate under the non-profit holdings of the Marathon Challenge Foundation.

Invent new ideas for changing careers teaching disabled people the arts

Using every special technology available to us, we will teach writing, film, music, and art, to every challenged person who comes in to the program.