Anthony “Tony” LaFond was born with a physical disability and was told at an early age that he was mentally disabled and wasn’t able to learn. That proved to be false. Later in life, his high school teacher noticed his writing ability and gave him his first notebook. When other students wrote about their cars, family members, and cellular phones, Tony wrote about his wheelchair. The poem was called “God’s Gift to Me.” He has since published the poem in an online magazine called Breath & Shadow and it’s been performed at the George St. Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ and in Full Circle. He is the author of the novel Ave Maria and the poetry books God’s Gift to Me, Artful Words, and Black.