Michael Nelson
Michael Nelson’s life began in a government owned, Housing Commission home, in 1955 (baby boomer generation), to a working-class family in the SE suburbs of Melbourne. He has one older and one younger brother (deceased) and two older sisters. His family religion was Roman Catholic, and he attended a RC primary school and a public secondary school. At 30 years of age, after a spiritual encounter, he became a follower of Jesus Christ. His new-found faith helped guide him through life’s difficulties.
At 16 years old, he started a radio apprenticeship and worked for an electronics manufacturer for four years and then joined the RAAF as an aircraft technician. He left the RAAF after six years and worked in the computer industry for several years as a computer technician and then later became a sales engineer for various technical equipment companies. At 50 years of age, he began study as a counsellor and completed a counselling degree in 2010.
Michael was motivated to become a qualified counsellor after his eldest son became so distressed and threatened to kill himself after seeking help from an unqualified counsellor. Fortunately, Michael was present and was able to save his son’s life. After studying part-time for a counselling degree, he was now qualified to help others. Michael worked with various clients with mental illness, and relationship difficulties. It was during this time as a counsellor that he gained knowledge and experience working with persons at risk of suicide. He is now retired from the workforce.
Not long after retiring from the workforce Michael found himself locked-down at home due to Covid-19 restrictions. It was during this period that he was able to slow down and reflect on his life journey and was inspired to write this book about a fictional character named Micah, who reflects the authors life story, except for the chapter on the Vietnam war. The author included this chapter to honor the legacy of his older brother who did go to war. Although his brother was incapable of talking about the war in Vietnam due to suffering from PTSD, he was able to research the war and the affects of the war on the Viet Vets.