Do you want Shirley Cheng on your show? It may look like this...
Can a star shine so brightly that no darkness remains?
Find out in this thought-provoking show when blind, disabled child prodigy Shirley Cheng empowers, inspires, and motivates your audience to go for their gold medals in life
Are you having a bad day? Then meet Shirley Cheng, A.K.A. the modern day Helen Keller.
"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains," says Shirley Cheng.
This is the kind of spirit and attitude that has allowed her to go for the gold medal and accomplish her life's passions, including:
* Finishing the entire elementary school with only about 180 days of attendance (and on the first day, she knew very little English and her book knowledge was non-existent)
* Doing math and chemistry in her head without Braille or vision, and still achieving exceptionally high scores and grades
* Writing and publishing three books by the age of twenty-one after she lost her eyesight, among many other achievements
"I'm not disabled, I'm ultra-abled." --Shirley Cheng
This miracle survivor will empower, inspire, and motivate your audience to reach for their stars, whether they are disabled or non-disabled.
Motivational Speaking
If you need a speaker who will deliver heartfelt messages that will make your audience laugh and cry at the same time, then count on Shirley to provide such inspiration to empower your audience members to dance with their hearts to the music of life. E-mail Shirley to schedule a speaking engagement.
Shirley Cheng, award-winning author (with twenty book awards), motivational speaker, self-empowerment expert, poet, advocate, born in 1983, was diagnosed with severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at only eleven months old. Owing to years of hospitalization between China and America, she received no education until the age of eleven. She started school in a special education class in elementary school, and back then, she only knew very little English and her book knowledge was non-existent. However, she mastered grade level in all areas after only about 180 days of attendance, and immediately entered regular sixth grade in middle school. She has been a high honor student ever since, achieving the Student of the Year and the Student of the Month, along with other academic, writing, and art awards. Unfortunately, she lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen. She received her high school equivalency diploma at nineteen. She took the entire GED test, including mathematical calculations, graphs, and an essay, without Braille or vision, but received a special recognition award for achieving a very high score.
Shirley Cheng is the author of 8-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); 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, Shirley 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.
Shirley is also an advocate of parental rights in children's medical care, and aide/caregiver monitoring and screening for students with special needs and people with disabilities, and has the vision of a better America for both parents and children. She is a victim and miracle survivor of not only her painful disease but more so of serious faults in American medical system, including two custody cases her mother, Juliet Cheng, had battled and won after disagreeing with doctors' recommended treatments, one of which lasted for five months in 1990 in Connecticut that made international headlines on major media, like The New York Times and The Associated Press (an incomplete list of media reports), and gained the support of Katharine Hepburn and Connie Chung.
"When doctors ask yes or no, parents should have the right to say no," says Shirley
Juliet and her lawyer, George Athanson-a former mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, for eleven years-appeared on CBS This Morning with Paula Zahn.
Shirley was also the victim of abusive behavior and mistreatment from one-to-one aides for years while attending public schools. "The problem with the uncaring aides actually lies in the authorities," says Shirley. "If the school officials had listened to my complaints, I wouldn't have gone through all that suffering."
Using her new voice as an adult, Shirley now fights to protect today's parents and children and the future of America. She hopes to bring awareness to the public with her 700-page autobiography, The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine: A Young Woman's Autobiography of a 20-Year Tale of Trials & Tribulations. She is looking for submissions for her forthcoming parental rights advocacy book, so please submit your personal stories, articles, and case studies and let your voice be heard!
In 2006, Shirley 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. Shirley's winning entry, titled The Jewel from Heavenly Father, is dedicated to her beloved mother Juliet Cheng. In 2007, Shirley 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.
Shirley is available for interviews, speaking engagements, book signings, and inspirational events. She has been on over twenty radio shows (as of December 2006), 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.
Radio Interviews with Shirley Cheng
All of the interviews are streamed instantly unless stated otherwise.
Listen to Shirley's 15-minute interview on Calling All Authors with host Valerie Connelly at http://globaltalkradio.com/shows/callingallauthors/ Learn why Shirley became an author at age twenty and how she writes her books and designs her website without sight.
Did you know that abuse is going on in American schools and the schools are ignoring it? Shirley spoke out to advocate aide monitoring/screening for students with special needs on The Rose Moore Show on June 10, 2006. The show lasts for an hour. Download the MP3 file that is toward the bottom of the page. Also, click here to see how you can develop an excellent IEP for your special needs child. (Save the document to your computer.)
Download Shirley's 30-minute interview on The Donna Seebo Show from March 14, 2006 by right-clicking here to save it onto your computer (9.6 MB in MP3) (Shirley's note: My mom did not lose her eyesight from the digestive enzymes; I lost mine.)
"Shirley Cheng is a young woman whose story would inspire anyone to work with their limitations and move past them with energy and grace instead of complaining. It is so easy to complain and stay in one's 'pity pot' however, Shirley's story shows how limitations can be overcome in wonderful ways when earnest energy is applied.
Shirley was a guest on my program and I would highly recommend her as a guest to anyone to wants to inspire their audience with positive motivation and example of the power of the individual," commented Donna Seebo, host of the popular "Donna Seebo Show", weekdays, 3-4pm, BBSRadio.com.
Listen to Shirley's interview on Disability News and Views radio show with host Monica Moshenko that was recorded live on Sunday, January 8 at www.disabilitynewsradio.com Go to "Past Shows."
Shirley's second live appearance on Cynthia Brian's radio show, Starstyle--Be the Star You Are! on November 2, 2005 (rebroadcast on June 21, 2006) is available for listening anytime at http://www.ideocast.com/archive.asp?aid=6998 Just click on "Shirley Cheng-The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine."
Show description:
The most positive person you will ever encounter, child prodigy, Shirley Cheng returns to talk about her quest to triumph over adversities with her inspirational
autobiography, The Revelation of a Star's Endless Shine. She is a poet and a woman of motivation offering humor, hope, and healing to all those she meets.
Shirley has big dreams, big goals, and THE BIGGEST HEART! We all need to listen intently to this lady of light.
Shirley appeared live on the radio show, StarstyleŽ--Be the Star You Are! with host Cynthia Brian, on Wednesday August 3, 2005 where Shirley was interviewed about her and her books. You can listen from your computer by going to http://www.ideocast.com/archive.asp?aid=4464and click on "Shirley Cheng and Dance with Your Heart".
