| View Larger Image | The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials & Tribulations | Paperbackby Shirley Cheng (Author)
| List Price: | $36.99 | |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Lulu.com | | Page Count: | 704 Pages | | Publication Date: | January 26, 2005 | | Sales Rank: | 1,477,185st |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Replete with fifty photographs, The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine unveils the gripping, never before told tale of child prodigy Shirley Cheng--a blind and physically disabled victim and survivor of severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and more so of falsehood in American medical system--and her loving mother, Juliet Cheng. Enter a world of terrors, struggles, dreams, and triumphs in this true life story spanning twenty years as mother and daughter travel the world seeking care and compassion. From Shirley's painful diagnosis of JRA as an infant and the 1990 international news of Juliet's victory over injustice in her custody case, to their acceptance of a harsh and devastating fate, and the elation of Shirley's various academic and personal achievements, this autobiography will leave the reader inspired and thinking twice about life's true values and meanings. At last, the truth of her life story is told through the eyes of Shirley as she brings you to live through all the hardships and exquisite happiness she has gone through from childhood to a blooming young woman. Experience her inexhaustible fortitude, sheer strength, and tenacious spirit as she reveals her endless shine. 'Shirley Cheng's inspirational book, The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine, offers hope and motivation to overcome challenges. After reading this stellar expose of the daily sufferings of a young innocent child who was championed by the unconditional love of her mother, you will understand unequivocally that life is not what happens to you, it is how you respond to it. A brilliant treatise to triumphing over turmoil. Buy it and be revitalized,' wrote Cynthia Brian, radio/TV personality and NY Times best selling co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul. 'Why is it possible in America, the land of the free, that a parent cannot disagree with a doctor's recommendation for treatment? Shirley Cheng offers a look into her world providing disturbing truths about America's medical and school systems. Shirley's unique way of writing further provides readers with a window to her intelligence, insight, and nature. Her matter-of-fact, original style and ability to prove a point is powerful. A disturbing, and enlightening read. Authentic, honest, and profound. Will change reader's outlook,' wrote Christina Francine for Reviewer's Bookwatch on Midwest Book Review. 'Shirley learned the hard way how indifferent some people could be when it came to the suffering of others. That did not deter her from reaching for the stars. Every day, no matter how she felt, she would try to smile. With her there was no such word as 'quit.' Each time Shirley's mother had to take her to the hospital for some kind of treatment, she would always find a way to bounce back and be ready to go on with her life. Shirley showed great fortitude when it came to pain. Even though she had to fight an uphill battle for twenty years, her attitude was to try to see the good in others and never try to judge anyone in anything said or done,' reviewed by Wanda Maynard from Sime~Gen - Reviews. 'This book will capture the heart of the reader and move you to tears as you travel down life's road with Shirley Cheng, a young author with a passion for life. Truly a star with endless shine. Well done, Shirley.' 'What makes Cheng's story so compelling is not just the debilitating disease of JRA but of the struggles she and her mother, Juliet, encountered with the medical and social service system. These systems demanded a regiment of treatment Juliet didn't believe was appropriate for her daughter. The result was extreme conflict where Juliet was taken to court in the attempt to force the treatment on Shirley. 'This is the story of a mother's dedication and commitment to her child, and it is most of all the story of a strong, brave and determined young woman to live her life to the fullest, even with all its limitations. Cheng dreams big dreams and has the tenacity to make them come true,' wrote Andrea Sisco from Armchair Interviews. 'This heartwarming story is one you'll want to read.' 'It's a story of amazing courage and human strengths, for someone to achieve so much, after having being deprived of so much is an awe-inspiring feat,' commented editor, teacher, author Angela Hooper, Spain. Shirley Cheng, born in 1983, was diagnosed with severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at eleven months old. Due to years of hospitalization, she received no schooling until age eleven. Having achieved grade level in all areas after merely 180 days in a special education class in elementary school, she was transferred to a regular sixth grade class in middle school. Unfortunately, she lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen and received her high school equivalency diploma at 19. She did the entire GED exam, including mathematical calculations, graphs, and an essay, without Braille or vision, but still received a special recognition award for achieving a very high score. She hopes to earn science doctorates from Harvard University after a successful eye surgery. Shirley wrote this autobiography when she was twenty years old using a screen reader on the computer, and self-published the book at the age of twenty-one, formatting the entire manuscript on her own. She is also the author of Daring Quests of Mystics (ISBN: 1-4116-5664-4), and Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells (ISBN: 1-4116-1858-0). |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 10 reviews)
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Shirley's story will inspire you by coachwriter (Washington state)  4 Stars
July 14, 2006
As a life and personal coach, I encourage my clients to read about people who face challenges and tragedies and manage not only to survive, but to thrive. Shirley Cheng's biography, "The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine," is such a book.
Shirley's life could have turned out very differently had she and her mother been cowed by the appalling behavior of doctors, teachers, landlords, social services employees, lawyers and even friends. Instead, their courage and willingness to confront rather than accept ill treatment, led Shirley, a blind, disabled woman, to create a life filled with meaning and singularly lacking in self-pity or bitterness.
Reading of Shirley's physical pain, her increasingly weakening body, the slipshod way she was handled by school aids who were supposed to be helping her, the legal wranglings over her care, would make anyone scream in frustration. Even worse was the way Shirley was treated by an endless list of so-called professionals. Hardly anyone listened to Shirley or her mother regarding her pain, her intelligence or her thirst for education. The indictment of so many people who should have been on Shirley's side, is a sad commentary on our medical, social service and educational systems. In addition, Shirley's father evidently was a manipulator and a cruel man who refused to use his money for the benefit of his daughter. The hardships she and her mother faced feel unendurable. Yet they were endured. And despite poor medical care, despite teachers who seemed uninterested in helping this talented student, despite unfeeling "friends," in two countries, this mother and daughter fought and won many more battles than they lost.
Unlike Shirley, few of us seem to have the innate ability to face every day and everyone with a smile regardless of our own painful circumstances. Yet we can read her story with an open heart and choose to integrate her positive outlook and determination into our own lives in a way that will serve us and those around us. After all, this is the reason Shirley wrote the book. She hoped that her story would inspire others to treat everyone with respect, to stand up for what we believe in and to reach out to those less fortunate.
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Triumph through creativity... by Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)  5 Stars
April 21, 2006
"She was running toward a glistening stream with fish of all colors flying out of the water. With laughter escaping her lips, she chased a white butterfly amidst the green field of wildflowers. Her black hair glowed with a halo of brightness, with sunrays dancing about her. The blue sky was accentuated by a shimmering rainbow..." ~pg. 116
Shirley Cheng is the author of Dance with Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells. She is a highly imaginative writer who has access to beautiful inner worlds where she creates mythological tales and beautiful stories.
In "The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine" we are able to access an extremely detailed portrait of 700 pages explaining Shirley Cheng's life and how she became a writer. As if observing her life as an angelic protecting presence, she writes of her life's struggles and challenges she faces due to many people in her life seeming to show a general insensitivity to her condition.
As a child she is diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but this is only the beginning of a long journey filled with therapies and medications, not to mention medical complications due to medication side effects. As Shirley Cheng seeks to make sense of why certain medical problems keep occurring, she faces life with a refreshingly honest and hopeful approach.
"Picking up a book, Shirley began to enter into a different world, a world that she could escape to from her surroundings. After the first quarter, she had begun to increase her reading and writing volume. She read three books a day, averaging five to six hundred pages." ~pg. 375
After spending the entire morning reading Shirley's work out on my deck in the sun, I can recommend anyone to do the same. This is a world where you can not only view the outer struggles of the poet's life, the inner world is also revealed in creative flourishes I started to look forward to finding throughout the writing:
"The strong wind whirled, bringing dancing flakes in its invisible arms, equally distributing a thin layer of snow to other places of the frozen land. Small spheres of shimmering, crystalline flowers alighted upon the earth from their silvery home above, while the sun slept peacefully below the horizon..."~ pg. 6
~The Rebecca Review
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A story of two remarkable women by Reader Views (Austin, Texas) 5 Stars
March 18, 2006
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (3/06)
This book is about the young life of Shirley Cheng, but really it is the story of two remarkable women, Shirley and her mother Juliet. It tells of the trials, tribulations and obstacles that they had to overcome. Shirley was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when she was 11 months old. Juliet then started her quest to find treatment for her daughter. Shirley's childhood was spent between America and China, looking for new
medicines and treatments. Several times Juliet had to fight for custody of her daughter when doctors wanted to do things she did not approve of.
The first goal in Shirley's life was to get an education, this did not go smoothly either. Between school administrators that would not listen to them, and aides that were very cruel, Shirley persevered and gained her GED diploma. She was also asked to speak at the graduation, an honor she embraced. Besides the arthritis, Shirley also suffers from several other diseases including heart problems, severe constipation, multiple allergies, asthma and blindness. It is through faith and sheer determination that Shirley has been successful.
What will Shirley accomplish in the rest of her life? She has proven that she can do anything she puts her mind to. The love and joy that mother and daughter derive from each other is a precious thing to behold.
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"When the Crooked is Made Plain!" by Linore Burkard (Cincinnati, OH USA) 5 Stars
February 25, 2006
This is a complex story written in an easy to read, conversational fashion that is disarming, yet sometimes astounding in its micro-details (ie., telephone conversations you get word-for-word); Shirley Cheng seems to have the memory of a titan. Nevertheless, at times you feel some information is missing--must be missing, because why else the poor treatment by one person after another, one agency after another, one doctor after another, one medical aide after another? But then it hits you--these people, these agencies, these medical "professionals" are really, in many cases, THAT awful! The truth is that American medicine, American government schools and American government agencies all too often think they are GOD. But they're not.
In fact, this book poignantly shows how the enormity of the misuse of power, such as trying to take an ill and hurting child away from its primary source of love and security--its mother--in the name of doing what's "best" for that child, is downright horrifying. And rightly so. The medical establishment is one of the biggest offenders in Shirley's life, and we can probably all relate. (No one is saying, incidentally, that there aren't good people to be found in these arenas of public service, and thankfully, Shirley and her mom find some good people, too.)
If nothing else, Shirley's story is triumphant in that her mother rejects what she knows to be wrong for her child, fights the nightmarish resistance of said "establishment" and wins in the end. But the book is also more than that; it is the tale of a sensitive, intelligent, and observant girl who happens to be painfully disabled; she suffers enormously but has the extraordinary gift of a mother who is sold out for her well-being, hook, line and sinker.
Did the mother make mistakes? Of course. She trusted the wrong people, particularly a relative who was no less than criminal, it seems to me, in her actions. But Juliet Cheng's gift of love to her daughter is something that many able-bodied people never get. She is the epitome of the selfless mother/caretaker extraordinaire, shining the light on the lives of quiet, exhausting devotion that mothers like her live daily.
Overall, the author does an amazing job of keeping the reader's interest; I think the book could be shorter, but I honestly cannot say it was ever boring. When you finish the book you will feel an affinity to this Shirley Cheng and her mother, Juliet. You will admire them both, and hopefully, thank the Lord that your "trials and tribulations" have not been as devastating. If you are interested in a story of hardship and happiness, of personal triumph against horrendous disadvantages, of the experience of being female, Chinese, disabled and blind and yet achieving your dreams in an adopted country--then read this book. The level of success that Shirley achieves is remarkable and inspiring--no less than her achievement in writing this book. Her work and courage alone get five stars in my book.
Shirley Cheng is a talented and bright-hearted young woman who is by no means finished achieving. I look forward to her next accomplishments!
Linore R. Burkard
www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com
Inspirational Romance for Today's Woman of Faith
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Truly a Revelation by Michelle Dunn (NH) 5 Stars
November 21, 2005
Shirley Cheng tells an amazing story through the eyes of someone who sees everything as an opportunity. Shirley is living proof that anyone can do anything at all. Her positive attitude and extraordinary intelligence has helped her be all she can be. This book will inspire you and make you more aware of the things you take for granted each day.
Michelle Dunn
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