Michael Hunter McVay

Have you got a few minutes for me?

Michael Hunter McVay, author of LGBTQ+ and complex PTSD books.

I’m at that age where I look back at my life and wonder what legacy, if any, I will leave behind. No doubt, my life was fascinating. I started out working at a Sonic Drive Inn at 12 years of age with a fake social security card my stepfather acquired. My actual father, whom I did not know, committed suicide when I was in Jr High school. Through high school, I worked part-time at a Dairy Queen and part time at a McDonald’s. I put myself through school and college with jobs and scholarships. I became a flight attendant, a respiratory therapist, a visual merchandiser for the dept. of defense, an interim college professor, an art teacher, an elementary teacher, a care worker, an actor, an artist, an illustrator, a singer, a designer, and a part-time drag queen performer during at least half of that mess. Crazy, right? I never knew who or what I wanted to be, because I was never sure who I was. Turns out, “I’m every woman! It’s all in me!” 😉

Now, I’ve had 4 books published and I wrote them to help myself deal with that bizarre life that included decades of torture and abuse, which I mostly kept to myself until I was diagnosed with severe Complex PTSD after my mother was killed. When writing, I thought about “who” from my life, deserves to be remembered and I included many of those dear souls in my books. There are a lot of worthy, wonderful people who have been a part of my life at some time along the way. I want to honor them, and I want their names to be read by strangers’ lips, and I want their lives to be thought about long after mine is over. The only way I can make that happen is to find willing readers for my books. My story isn’t about asking for pity or forgiveness, it’s about belonging, loving, and accepting myself and those around me.

Of course, I have judged others and I have hurt people during my life, so I am as flawed as anyone. Although I have developed cataracts, I think I can see my horizon even more clearly as my hippocampus continues to give me expanded views of my forgotten past through ruminations. And while my life and my story may not be enough to draw the number of readers I would hope for, the other people I wrote about need to be remembered somehow. Most have long passed, but there are some still with us. They thrill and delight me with their goodness, their humanity, and their compassion for any number of causes and actions. While I tell my story from my perspective in my books, I too continue to grow and learn even as I write. My writing career has been the least lucrative of all my former careers and jobs that I mentioned above, but it has been the most challenging and the most rewarding.

With this said, I ask you to find the thing that you are destined to do, reach for it, work for it, believe in yourself. Leave behind those who hold you back and remain with those who uplift and support you. This is the one and only life you will get on this earth. I’m going deaf, but I still hear you. Let us love while we are here! If I could become famous for one quote, maybe it would be, “Do what you can do to feel like you are part of the world you live in, not just the space you occupy.” Because – that’s what I am trying to do. So, as I find myself holding on to the last of the memories of those who loved me unconditionally, I write. Please consider reading one or more of my books. Those who were such a vital and inspirational part of my life, touched my heart, so much so – that I was compelled to write about them. Their memories and goodness shouldn’t disappear with me. Read their names, know their stories and mine. Maybe it will inspire you to write your own story. There is more to come – for all of us. If you need me, you can reach me here or at my website:
michaelhuntermcvay.com