America: Are We Willing to Go After All We Dream Of? What's Your Why?

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Jul 12, 2017, 08:30 ET

ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Bell, a renowned artist, 3x national award-winning art educator, and owner of MBELLART Productions, believes it's up to us to find 'our why' in order to fight for what we believe in and all we dream of. He believes finding 'our why' will help us determine whether our journey is defined by our origins, or by our maniacal drive to fight our way out of them and be all we're destined to be.

"I always wanted to catch kids before they fall.
That's my motto in education.
Do what nobody ever did for me."

DUAL LIVES: from the Streets to the Studio by Michael Bell. Foreword by Peter J. Gotti. Commentary by John A. Gotti

Michael Bell delivering an inspiring keynote on 31 Nights

Bell was doing that for twenty years, but then tragedy hit his personal life hard and fast. His young son Carmen was just officially diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, specifically with what was once labeled Asperger's Syndrome. He and his wife researched heavily and had to come to grips with one major takeaway—there is no cure.

School also turned into a battleground filled with its own set of wars to fight, from bullying to widespread accountability problems that are becoming more prevalent within a US public school system more focused on "data mining" than on "building relationships".

"I've always fought hard for kids in my classroom.
Now we're fighting for our son.
That's why I wrote DUAL LIVES."

DUAL LIVES is an inspiring and brutally candid memoir that chronicles Bell's meteoric rise to becoming one of the most highly decorated public school teachers in America, all the while, living out a storied painting career as "Mob Artist" to America's most infamous, from John Gotti to numerous actors from hit mob shows like the Sopranos. It's the ultimate story of overcoming extreme adversity and being a true champion for today's youth from someone still in the trenches, still in the classroom, still at the top of his game.

"Will DUAL LIVES inspire another teacher out there to help our son find his 'why' and realize his dreams the way I've helped so many others realize theirs? Only time will tell . . . but for me, the time is now."

DUAL LIVES: from the Streets to the Studio is available on Amazon and is a #1 NEW RELEASE in Educator's Memoirs. It is passionately written, and just as courageously vulnerable as the compelling narratives found within Bell's paintings. It's also backed by an impressive list of contributors, with a Foreword by Peter J. Gotti to Commentary from his infamous clientele and world-renowned Artists, Art critics, Education Columnists, Pulitzer Prize winners, NY Times Best-Selling Authors, Actors and Boxers even . . . from John A. Gotti, Dominic Capone, Eric Fischl, Jerry Saltz, Jay Mathews, Daniel Pink, David J. Leeson to Paulie Malignaggi.