| Thomas A. Gonzales was born in Fresno, California. He is the son of immigrant parents from south of the border. He was a school dropout and in 1951, joined the United States Army. He spent one year, as a combat medic, in the Korean Conflict (really a war). After three years, he was honorably discharged. On the G.I.Bill, he attended college and majored in education. For 32 years, he taught public school and was also a guidance counselor. While still teaching, he developed Macular Degeneration and continued to teach for four years. The irony about his writing is that he started to write after he developed Macular Degeneration. Thomas wrote, “Wall of Fog: Struggle With Blindness”, because he wanted to learn more about the eye disease that caused him to go through...hell. His book served as his own therapy. He served as a peer-support leader at both the Valley Center for the Blind and the Hacienda Senior Living Facility for over11 years. Thomas also is a member and volunteer there.
Thomas also is a Mended Hearts support group visitor. He visits local hospitals and speaks with pre-operation and post-operation open-heart patients. He is a former heart patient himself.
“Mr. Macular Degenerate” is a pocket book full of true, humorous blind stories. It was written with the intention of sharing with sighted people, what blind people experience in a funny and inspirational way.
He is a member of Writer’s International (WIN), a writer’s support group.
Thomas and his wife (his major support system), Joan have four adult children and two grandchildren, Andrea and Logan. |
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 tag19@alumni.csufresno.edu |
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