My name is Rafael Garrigos. I’m 38 and live in the Chicago area. I learned at an early age how to move through a world that often felt out of rhythm with my senses. Vision along with hearing challenges shaped my days, yet they also taught me to slow down, notice small details, as well as trust steady work. Those lessons shaped my writing long before I knew I would call myself a writer.
My story “The Space Between Then and Now” appears in The Prairie Light Review. It follows two childhood friends from Mexico who meet again in Chicago after many years apart. A simple cup of coffee pulls them back to the years they shared and the distance they carry. The story moves through gestures and memory, much like the ways many of us with CHARGE build connection across gaps. You can read it here: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol48/iss1/41
Writing entered my life early, first in Spanish and later in English. I learned that stories grow through action, not speed. I also learned that storytelling takes many forms. Some of us write. Some sign. Some draw. Some speak. Some build worlds through sound or movement. CHARGE does not limit expression; it reshapes it, and I keep that truth close. I write to bring lives into conversation, to create a quiet place where someone can feel seen. If one reader finds a moment that stays with them, the story has done its job.
Links:
https://rafaelgarrigoswrites.wordpress.com/
https://rafaelgarrigoswrites.substack.com/?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web
