The Mission Forged in Suffering

This mission began not with a grand idea, but with a broken system. My name is Michael J. Kissling, and I am the founder of Ability Forge. My journey from a regular citizen to a passionate advocate was forged in the crucible of personal suffering—a battle with a faceless corporation that ended in the loss of my leg, a journey detailed in the pages of this website and in the lyrics of my songs.

My Story is Not Unique

I am an amputee and a father to a daughter with autism. My story, while deeply personal, is not unique. It is a story of a system that put policy before pain, profit before people. It is the story of how a single denial spiraled into years of suffering, ultimately costing me my limb, my college enrollment, and leaving me disabled while transferring some of that harm to my family members.

Finding Purpose in Pain

But out of that pain, something new was born. Ability Forge is the result of my refusal to surrender. It is a space dedicated to a simple, yet profound, philosophy: **Act Justly, Love Mercy**. I am not a doctor, scientist, or a politician; I am a **synthesist**—a seeker who connects the seemingly unrelated dots between cold, hard data and the raw, lived experience of suffering. I am a partner to anyone fighting to be heard in a "denial echo chamber" that wants us to believe our pain is normal, that it's "all in our heads."

Music, Advocacy, and a Path Forward

The music I create and the advocacy I pursue are two sides of the same coin. They are my way of taking my personal testimony, the research I've tirelessly gathered, and the spiritual strength I've found, and turning them into a weapon of truth. My mission is to show that we are not just victims of the system, but allies in a fight for a more just, more merciful, and more perfect tomorrow. This is my story, but it is also the story of every person who refuses to be silenced.