“I have shared my story – even the parts that were hard to share –
with the hope that other individuals with impairments will be
encouraged and given practical insights.”
— Walter Ashby
Impaired, But Empowered:
A Memoir of Faith, Fortitude and Fortune
Impaired, But Empowered: A Memoir of Faith, Fortitude and Fortune is an inspirational memoir written by a man who experienced a 98% loss in sight as a young child, but who achieved great success in life despite big odds. The author, Walter Ashby, is legally blind and works today as a licensed financial advisor for Edward Jones.
Walter wrote the memoir to encourage others with disabilities “to dream big and to understand that with hard work and a can do attitude, they too can have full, happy lives.” He also wants his story to provide the parents of children with disabilities, as well as their grandparents, teachers, pastors and others, with practical advice and insights regarding how they can best support and encourage those children.
Walter believes that Impaired, But Empowered will also resonate with readers who are not impaired, but who are struggling to achieve their full potential — at work, at school or in some other area of their lives.
As Walter conveys in Impaired, But Empowered, he was raised in the small West Texas town of Mineral Wells during the Fifties and Sixties, decades before the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, the federal law that has done much to open doors for people with disabilities. The ADA was passed in 1996.
Growing up, Walter’s poor eyesight meant that just about everything in his life was difficult, including most of the things that other kids and teenagers take for granted – playing ball and having a normal social life, for example. And of course, the traditional teenage rite of passage – getting a drivers license – was out of the question for Walter. As a result, Walter’s impairment often isolated him from his peers, a problem that was exacerbated by the fact that Walter tried to conceal from everyone the fact that he could see very little.
In the classroom, Walter’s visual impairment often meant that he was misjudged and underestimated by his teachers – even written off as stupid. And later in life, despite his impressive college and graduate degrees, Walter sometimes experienced discrimination in the work world.
Yet as Walter recounts, even as a young boy he had dreams for himself and yearned to be independent and to have dignity. His fierce desire to excel and his resilience, coupled with an ability to think creatively and problem-solve allowed him to overcome, or work around, innumerable obstacles throughout his life, bounce back after disappointing setbacks, and excel both academically and professionally, often in the face of great odds.
Impaired, But Empowered makes clear that Walter’s personal qualities and abilities, the supportive, encouraging people in his life, notably his father and his 10th grade English teacher, together with his strong belief in God, have helped him achieve more in life than most sighted people ever could. To appreciate Walter’s many impressive accomplishments, read more About Walter.
Share your comments about Impaired, But Empowered:
Impaired, But Empowered: A Memoir of Faith, Fortitude and Fortune(Up-Words Press, January 4, 2017; ISBN-10: 0998398705; ISBN-13: 978-0998398709;
paperback, $14.95; e-book $3.99) is available at all bookstores and online
