By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

ATLANTA—It was under a cherry tree one spring in his Tuscaloosa neighborhood that Nathan Ballard, then a boy and unable to walk because of a disability, would talk for hours with his Uncle Nora Lee Jackson, their friendship blooming.

“Uncle Nora, I wish I could play like dey can,” he said, referring to nearby neighborhood children.

“God has somp’m greater for you to do,” Uncle Nora replied.

Years later, it was under the shade of another tree that seeds of a different friendship were planted.

Michael Rogers was sitting under a tree the second day of his freshman year at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, missing his girlfriend, when a man in a wheelchair rolled over his foot.

“I was wearing sandals and it hurt,” Rogers said. Next, the man’s gracious demeanor struck him. “He was so self-effacing and eloquent despite his visible impairment.”

Rogers seized the opportunity and asked his new acquaintance to lunch. “I thought he was cool.”

So Rogers, a graduate of St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, who grew up in the Stone Mountain parish of Corpus Christi, became friends in 1991 with 37-year-old Nathan Ballard. He learned that Ballard, who has severe cerebral palsy, grew up in abject poverty in Alabama, was rejected by the school system and left to teach himself how to read at 22. Ballard, he found out, was also an advocate of people with disabilities and their drive to be accepted more fully in society.

Several months later, Ballard told Rogers he had found a woman to edit his autobiography, which he had been writing for over 10 years. Asked to read the manuscript, Rogers read 30 pages and became angry, believing the editor was completely distorting Ballard’s character, and rewriting it into the third person.

“I saw this really nice man being badly taken advantage of,” Rogers recalled. “This woman had portrayed Nathan as . . . shivering and cowering with fear.”

So the pen pals began writing it together. A first draft was finished in 1992 when Rogers was 19. Nearly a decade and 14 rounds of editing later, the 208-page autobiography, “Nathan,” was published in 2000 by RBC Publishing of Elk Grove, Calif., co-written by Rogers and Ballard. The book is written from Ballard’s perspective.

The book explores how Ballard has learned to live more independently with his disability. He was a founding member of two homes for severely disabled adults. At UA he serves as an ambassador for those with disabilities and he has spoken before Congress in support of rehabilitation legislation.

“(The book) tells the story of a truly remarkable man written off by the world and his excellence at self-promotion—something he has been required to do for survival and he’s in a sense made a living out of it,” said Rogers, now 29. “The book details Nathan’s life as kind of innovative for establishing rights and opportunities for people with severe disabilities. He’s spent much of his life on the cutting edge of establishing that kind of opportunity.”

“You can tell it was written by someone a little on the manic side,” Rogers continued, referring to himself. “It takes you along an emotionally spiked story of one man, a deeply feeling man, his experiences, his amazing joy, his spirituality, his sadness, his success and defeat.”

Ballard tells the central supporting role his Uncle Nora played in his life. “He taught me to believe in myself and to become self-reliant . . . even when nobody else believes in me. He always encouraged me to do the best I can—beyond my limitations.”

Ballard wanted to write the book to show “the core of being disabled,” and he includes small details like his struggle to learn simple tasks such as eating with a spoon without spilling food. While he still struggles physically and emotionally, he has a lot to live for and is extremely honored to have attended UA.

“I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never be able to walk, but I walk in other ways, like my mind, and that is a lot more powerful than physical walking.”

He hopes readers will see how the human spirit can overcome adversity.

“I have a responsibility to inform people that despite what kind of disability he or she may have he or she can make a valuable contribution to society,” he said. “I believe this with all my heart. We are here to serve each other on this earth.”

Rogers, who is married and has a 5-month-old son, found time to work on the book even as he worked and was a full-time student. But he buried the book project for four years, needing time to focus on other areas of his life before excavating it.

“Returning to it was kind of like looking at it objectively,” he said. “You can get really wrapped up in work. It’s kind of like being too close to the vine to taste the grapes.”

Checking the facts and research were a large part of his editing process, Rogers recalled. He also had to persuade Ballard to examine more sensitive issues in his life to experience healing through the writing process. It, in turn, taught Rogers to live deeply and value relationships.

“Nathan was healing through writing of the book— psychological and spiritual healing. I continued to tell him if he really felt that (writing was a healing process) he had to examine these more sensitive issues. I was blessed to have an opportunity to be a channel for that kind of reflection. It’s in the book. I feel the book forces people to reflect on themselves,” he said. “I’m a very impatient person, (and) acquiring patience has been part of it.”

While forthright, the book is not intended to be depressing or evoke pathos, Rogers said.

“It’s inspiring for anyone struggling in their heart, trying to overcome challenges in their life; it makes you sit up and examine what you have,” he said. “You have to get past disabilities and see people as people.”

Several large publishing houses rejected the manuscript. Andy Parks, vice president at RBC, whose son worked at UA and sent him a copy of the manuscript, met Ballard on a visit to Tuscaloosa where he was drawn by Ballard’s enthusiasm. He read the book on a flight back to California and offered them a $10,000 advance.

“The most interesting thing is looking at life through the eyes of someone with a debilitating disease, but yet a tremendously positive attitude,” Parks said.

Even after getting the book published, Rogers has found his next challenge: publicity.

“It’s been slow to get off the ground due to the lack of publicity. The subject matter is not something you would think of as being popular reading. It’s hard to get any kind of publicity these days, if you’re not published by Random House. If you’re published by a small press, it’s tough. We’re clipping it all together and sooner or later we’ll get on ‘Oprah’” he said. “When you meet him and listen to him it’s his charm and charisma that will sell him.”

They were invited to a conference on Southern black writers in Hawaii next March.

Rogers also experienced turbulent teenage years after his mother, Glori Rogers, school nurse at St. Pius, died when he was 12. Because he had problems adjusting, after attending St. Pius his freshman year he was sent to boarding school for two years and a psychiatric hospital for six months before returning to St. Pius his senior year. He then poured his creative juices out on the stage, getting involved in St. Pius theatre where he directed “A Christmas Carol” under the supervision of drama teacher Bonnie Sparks.

With the book under his belt, Rogers is now working with Ballard and a university special education professor to create an international exchange program at UA for persons with disabilities, hoping eventually to create a Ballard Endowed Scholarship there, as well as the Glori Rogers Memorial Scholarship at St. Pius. And along the way of their shared journey they’ve gotten to meet artists like musician Dave Matthews and author Maya Angelou, who befriended Ballard on campus visits and supported the project. “Being friends with Nathan is an adventure. I’ve met a lot of interesting people,” said Rogers.

“This book is so close to my heart, it’s now woven into the fabric of my life. I’ve spent a decade on it. It’s more than a project, it’s part of my soul.”

The book is $24.95. To purchase it visit amazon.com and under the book search heading type, Nathan Ballard.