Introducing Miguel

Since he was 17 years old, Miguel has been creating and re-creating himself, with what might seem, to others, that mythical golden touch so many people wish they had. He tried his hand at real estate, recovered from life-threatening injuries, tried a nursing career, then finally went for the dream career he had wanted since he was 17 years old.

Even as an infant, Miguel, was in a hurry. He was born Michael James McCristall, premature at 6 months, and left school in 1988 at 17, not wanting to wait until he had graduated to launch himself into the highly-competitive field of real estate. Although highly successful, his career as a realtor was cut short by an unexplained car accident in 1989, that left him with several life-threatening injuries. He miraculously survived and recovered, an event the family and the Vatican attributed to the intervention of the first and only Chilean saint to date. Miguel re-invented himself with a brand new career, going back to school to earn a diploma as a hairdresser and launching into the whirlwind world of haute coiffure by bringing the style, service, and ambience of the grandest salons to “small town” Oshawa. Once again, Miguel’s success flew out the window with a divorce suit that cost him everything. With all his worldly possessions in two suitcases, Miguel left Ontario for a place where he could re-start his life and career, and start his own family. That place is Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The time is now.

Many people know Miguel in many different ways, in different industries, at different times, and by different names. In Charlottetown, Miguel is an outgoing, energetic hairstylist who showers love and care on his clients and earns their loyalty in return. He is a devoted husband and father, who will do anything for his adorable daughters, his lovely wife, and his pets.

This blog and the upcoming book Big Dreams and Small Miracles will put together all the bits and pieces of the tapestry of Miguel’s life. It will take you through his growing years, his different personas, his dreams, and the miracles that delivered Miguel to PEI and to my Facebook page. Miguel and I will share the little stories with you and, eventually, the big story. We will also share many of the artifacts that have come from Miguel’s life: photographs, articles, and other documents that have contributed to the large tapestry of his life.

As a writer and Miguel’s biographer, I would be remiss not to do my research, so I welcome anything you would like to share about Miguel–whether they are photographs or anecdotes, I will be elated to receive them! While not all testimonials and anecdotes might make it to the final book, they could very easily make it into this blog!

Submission guidelines:

You can share testimonials, anecdotes, articles, and images on this blog as comments or send them by email to cindy@artnwords.ca

Anecdotes must be in a readable, editable text format preferably .docx or .pages; images must be in .jpg or .png format. If you have documents to share, please scan them and submit as PDF files.