A 78-year-old Hsinchu man has found a second calling as a storybook author, after a series of strokes six years ago left him feeling hopeless.
Tseng Chang-yang (曾常揚) had been taking care of his wife ever since she had a stroke 18 years ago, but then had two strokes of his own.
He was optimistic after his first stroke, but said the second stroke, which struck shortly thereafter, left him feeling defeated.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Although Tseng eventually regained his ability to walk without a cane and underwent physical therapy, he said his social life was largely confined to the half a day he spent at the local senior center once a week.
In 2014, Tseng began attending storybook workshops held by the Senior Citizen Active Learning Center in the East District.
Inspired by the lessons, he said he worked tirelessly to draw, write and search for family photographs to add to his book.
After finishing his first storybook, he recovered his strength and felt happier, Tseng said.
The next year, he joined a “TED Talks for seniors” program hosted by Let WE Care (老玩客), a start-up founded in 2014 by National Tsing Hua University Institute of Service Science graduate Meya Liao (廖健妤).
After 12 hours of training, Tseng gave a live-streamed speech on courage.
Tseng said that many people wrote him thank-you cards telling him that his life story is inspiring and that his fearless spirit is worth learning about, while he thanked the Hsinchu City Government for its lifelong education policy.
Over the past few years, he said he has experienced kindness from all parts of society and feels as though he has been given a new lease on life.
To repay others’ kindness, he made another storybook, this time on marriage.
Tseng said he will continue writing and telling his story to encourage others.
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