Andy Nixon learned early on that he was considered less than his classmates due to his poor grades. Report card day became a time of high anxiety as he took his report card home for the required parent signature. Accusations of "You could be doing much better," and, "You're just lazy," were regular comments to him by adults. From a traumatic childhood as an abject failure academically, to a chance opportunity to attend college, and his awakening to the fact that he learned differently from most other students, to the achievement of the ultimate degree - Doctor of Education, he tells his story with humor and tears. Somehow, Andy made it through the taunting, humiliation, and demeaning comments by teachers, and lived to tell the tale of his exploits. In his book, 50 Shades of Grades, My Journey Through Wacademia, Dr. Andy Nixon offers a testament to the difficulty many children encounter in early grades and beyond, to what he dreamed he could achieve in life. This despite the fact that the traditional education system was geared against his learning style, and the power of determination and willingness to stick with the struggle and overcome the odds. Dr. Nixon's philosophy is, "It is no sin to be knocked down. It is only a sin to not get back up."
Andy Nixon learned early on that he was considered less than his classmates due to his poor grades. Report card day became a time of high anxiety as he took his report card home for the required parent signature. Accusations of “You should be doing better,” and “You are just lazy” were regular comments to him by adults.
From a traumatic childhood as an abject failure academically, to a chance opportunity to attend college, and his awakening to the fact that he learned differently from most other students, to the achievement of the ultimate degree – Doctor of Education, he tells his story with humor and tears. Somehow, Andy made it through the taunting and humiliation and demeaning comments by teachers, and lived to tell the tale of his exploits.
In his book, 50 Shades of Grades, Dr. Andy Nixon offers a testament to the difficulty many children encounter in early grades and beyond, to what he dreamed he could achieve in life. This despite the fact that the traditional educational system was geared against his learning style, and the power of determination and willingness to stick with the struggle and overcome the odds. Dr. Nixon’s philosophy is, “It is no sin to be knocked down. It is only a sin to not get back up.”
50 Shades of Grades, a memoir, was my first book. Originally started as a record of my life to pass on to my grandchildren, the events morphed into a book. Since it is a memoir, I obviously knew how it was going to turn out so it was fairly easy to write and the story moved along quickly. There was, however, some level of research that was needed when reflecting on the characters that drifted into and out of the life of millionaire Didi Allen.
50 Shades was successful and I liked the format, so I decided to write a second book using a similar one. As a second generation American (all four grandparents were immigrants) I’d often heard family lore of their ventures and challenges. Three Lives of Peter Novak is an historical novel. It is fiction, but nuggets of family stories told to me by my grandmother are woven throughout the book. Using the format of a memoir, my fictional protagonist, Peter Novak, tells his story on a series of cassette tapes.