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Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior's Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory
By Brad Snyder, Tom Sileo. 2016
"I am not going to let my blindness build a brick wall around me. I'd give my eyes one hundred…
times again to have the chance to do what I have done, and what I can still do."-Brad Snyder speaking with First Lady Michelle Obama On the night Osama bin Laden was killed, US Navy Lieutenant Brad Snyder was serving in Afghanistan as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer with SEAL Team Ten. When he learned of SEAL Team Six's heroics across the Pakistani border, Brad was thankful. Still, he knew that his dangerous combat deployment would continue. Less than five months later, Brad was engulfed by darkness after a massive blast caused by an enemy improvised explosive device. Suddenly Brad was blind, with vivid dreams serving as painful nightly reminders of his sacrifice. Exactly one year after losing his sight, Brad heard thousands cheer as he stood on a podium in London. Incredibly, Brad had just won a gold medal in swimming at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Fire in My Eyes is the astonishing true story of a wounded veteran who refused to give up. Lieutenant Brad Snyder did not let blindness build a wall around him-through tenacity and courage, he tore it down.Blind Man's Bluff: A Memoir
By James Tate Hill. 2021
A writer’s humorous and often-heartbreaking tale of losing his sight—and how he hid it from the world. At age…
sixteen, James Tate Hill was diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, a condition that left him legally blind. When high-school friends stopped calling and a disability counselor advised him to aim for C’s in his classes, he tried to escape the stigma by pretending he could still see. In this unfailingly candid yet humorous memoir, Hill discloses the tricks he employed to pass for sighted, from displaying shelves of paperbacks he read on tape to arriving early on first dates so women would have to find him. He risked his life every time he crossed a street, doing his best to listen for approaching cars. A good memory and pop culture obsessions like Tom Cruise, Prince, and all things 1980s allowed him to steer conversations toward common experiences. For fifteen years, Hill hid his blindness from friends, colleagues, and lovers, even convincing himself that if he stared long enough, his blurry peripheral vision would bring the world into focus. At thirty, faced with a stalled writing career, a crumbling marriage, and a growing fear of leaving his apartment, he began to wonder if there was a better way.Succeeding With LD: True Stories About Real People With Ld
By Jill Lauren. 2007
Jill Lauren profiles amazing individuals who live with a learning disability and have effectively conquered their challenges to achieve success.…
These moving biographical sketches highlight the stories of a remarkable group of youth and adults who lead fulfilling lives because of their hard work, courage, and resilience. These inspiring people describe the resources they used to focus on their strengths and to persevere. Their poignant, real-life stories generate empathy and understanding in the community and stress the importance of a strong support network. First published in 1997, this new edition includes a 10-years later; update on each individual profiled.Being Julia - A Personal Account of Living with Pathological Demand Avoidance
By Ruth Fidler, Julia Daunt. 2021
Diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) at aged 12 and writing this memoir at age 37, Julia Daunt depicts the…
ins and out of PDA and its symptoms, while maintaining a positive outlook on what is possible to achieve. Co-written with professional specialist Ruth Fidler, it covers how PDA impacts Julia's life, including meltdowns, sensory issues and communication in relationships.Including examples of school reports and handwritten letters, a chapter written from Julia's partner's perspective and even an example of Julia's favourite recipe, this warm and personal look at living and thriving with PDA is informative and inspiring.White Coat, White Cane: The Extraordinary Odyssey of a Blind Physician
By David Hartman, Bernard Asbell. 1978
The woman's arthritic fingers feel gnarled and crooked, her knees lumpy rocks. But I can detect no swelling, so I…
press here, there, trying to rouse an inflamed spot. "What are you doing"she challenges. "You're blind!" "I'm examining you. Haven't you ever been examined by a blind doctor before?" She refuses to be humored. "That's silly. What can a blind doctor do?" "I'm not sure, but we're going to find out..." When David Hartman, blind since the age of eight, announced his intention to become a doctor, the reactions ranged from sympathy to ridicule. How could he diagnose his patients? Examine them, except by touch? Look through a microscope? Even understand what was being described? The battle lines were drawn: David and his family on one side, the schools and society on the other. But with an incredible strength of purpose, David Hartman went on to become the first blind person in over 100 years to enter medical school. What is it like to adjust to a world of darkness? David Hartman lets us know bluntly, with real emotion, insight, and humor. He had to relearn the simplest things. He had to overcome mental obstacles that were at times more formidable than the physical ones. Yet he was determined to reach beyond his difficulties to fulfill an impossible dream. His teachers were helpful, hostile, embarrassed, unsure-and in medical school he had to work twice as hard. The work had to be read to him or translated into Braille. Often he had to rely on a sighted person to confirm his diagnosis, and he needed a nurse to read the patients' charts to him. But he utilized all his other senses to achieve his greatest desire: helping to heal. His journey is a moving and inspirational story for us all.Who Says I Can't: The Astonishing Story of a Fearless Life
By Rob Mendez. 2021
On paper, Coach Rob Mendez sounds like any other football coach on any other field across America: passionate, authoritative, knowledgeable.…
But he&’s unlike any other coach you know--in fact, he&’s probably unlike any other person you know.Born with an extraordinarily rare condition called tetra-Amelia syndrome, Rob has no arms or legs. He moves with the assistance of a custom-made, motorized wheelchair that he operates with his back and shoulders.Many people look at Rob and see limitation, yet Rob sees opportunity: Opportunity to pursue his passion for football. Opportunity to change the way people perceive physical disability. Opportunity to serve as a role model for the hundreds of kids he&’s coached over the years.Told with both humor and frankness, Who Says I Can&’t? takes readers on Rob&’s incredible journey, from his birth to loving parents who wanted to afford him every chance for happiness, to the emotional and physical hurdles he faced while seeking independence, to receiving the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPY Awards in 2019.Each day, Coach Rob rolls onto the field and shows his players that dreams are achievable when you show up, do the work, and believe in yourself. And after reading this book you, too, will believe that anything is possible.More to Life than More: A Memoir of Misunderstanding, Loss, and Learning
By Alan Pesky, Claudia Aulum. 2021
At the age of thirty, just as everything was falling into place for him, Lee Pesky died of brain cancer.…
For his father, Alan, grief came with the realization that he had lost the chance to love Lee as he was—not as he wanted him to be. Ambitious, successful, and always striving for more, Alan had a hard time relating to a son who struggled with learning disabilities at a time when there was little understanding or help for kids who had them. Their relationship was complicated, and now, Lee was gone.More to Life than More is a memoir of misunderstanding, loss, and learning. After Lee&’s death, Alan&’s conception of more crumbles. He launches himself into keeping Lee&’s memory alive by helping kids in a way he wasn&’t able to help his son. It was too late to change his relationship with Lee, but he could create something positive and enduring from his loss: Lee Pesky Learning Center, a non-profit in Idaho dedicated to understanding and helping those with learning differences.In 25 years, LPLC has benefited more than 100,000 children and has become a national force for early childhood literacy. And for Alan, it has meant getting to know the son he had misunderstood and lost.Cómo Encontré Mi Voz
By Damian Quinn. 2021
"...las palabras siempre conservarán su poder. Las palabras ofrecen los medios para encontrar el significado y, para aquellos que escuchan, el…
enunciado de la verdad". - V, 2005 El poder de la comunicación es fundamental; algunos dirían que una necesidad. Todos tenemos ese poder: humanos, insectos, aves, gatos, perros, etc. No importa a cual especie pertenezcamos, todos nos comunicamos. Lamentablemente, a algunas personas se les dificulta, y Damian fue una de ellas. El Trastorno del Desarrollo del Lenguaje, una discapacidad del habla y del lenguaje que padece Damian desde su nacimiento, hace que las frases sean confusas y lentas, incluso si las ideas de Damian son claras. Aquí Damian habla acerca de cómo el TDL ha impactado su vida, y como la organización benéfica Afasic ha estado ahí para ayudarle durante todo el trayecto. Damian tropezó con muchas dificultades a lo largo de su vida para lograr hablar. Cómo encontré mi voz relata el viaje de Damian, desde sus primeros años, sus dificultades para encontrar un diagnóstico y que la enfermedad fuera reconocida, hasta ser escuchado como vicepresidente de Afasic.Golem Girl: A Memoir - 'A hymn to life, love, family, and spirit' DAVID MITCHELL
By Riva Lehrer. 2020
'A hymn to life, love, family, and spirit' DAVID MITCHELL, author of Cloud AtlasThe vividly told, gloriously illustrated memoir of…
an artist born with disabilities who searches for freedom and connection in a society afraid of strange bodies.***WINNER OF THE BARBELLION PRIZE***In 1958, amongst the children born with spina bifida is Riva Lehrer. She endures endless medical procedures and is told she will never have a job, a romantic relationship or an independent life. But everything changes when as an adult Riva is invited to join a group of artists, writers, and performers who are building Disability Culture. Their work is daring, edgy, funny, and dark, and it rejects tropes that define disabled people as pathetic, frightening or worthless, instead insisting that disability is an opportunity for creativity and resistance. Riva begins to paint their portraits - and her art begins to transform the myths she's been told her whole life about her body, her sexuality, and other measures of normal.'A brilliant book, full of strangeness, beauty, and wonder' Audrey Niffenegger'Wonderful. An ode to art and the beauty of disability' Cerrie Burnell'Stunning' Alison Bechdel***SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD***Helen Keller (Rebel Lives)
By Helen Keller, John Davis. 2003
A different portrayal of Keller, who is usually remembered for her work aiding blind and deaf-blind people. Deaf and blind…
herself from the age of 19 months, Keller did indeed devote her adult life to helping those similarly afflicted - she was also a crusading Socialist, championing the poor and oppressed from all walks of life and leading a fight against the less obvious evil of social blindness. John Davis has collected her political writing and speeches, including her arguments for women's suffrage, her opposition to the world wars and support for Eugene V. Debs.Ugly
By Robert Hoge. 2015
A beaut story about one very ugly kid.Robert Hoge was born with a tumour in the middle of his face,…
and legs that weren't much use. There wasn't another baby like him in the whole of Australia, let alone Brisbane. But the rest of his life wasn't so unusual: he had a mum and a dad, brothers and sisters, friends at school and in his street. He had childhood scrapes and days at the beach; fights with his family and trouble with his teachers.He had doctors, too: lots of doctors who, when he was still very young, removed that tumour from his face and operated on his legs, then stitched him back together. He still looked different, though. He still looked ... ugly.UGLY is the true story of how an extraordinary boy grew up to have an ordinary life, and how that became his greatest achievement of all.Easy Street: A Story of Redemption from Myself
By Maggie Rowe. 2022
A moving and offbeat story of unlikely friendship, the cost of ambition, and what happens when the things you&’ve always…
run away from show up on your doorstep. To most, Maggie Rowe appears to live on Easy Street. Her stylish home is in a fashionable Los Angeles neighborhood. She has a kind husband who makes her laugh. And after years of struggle, she is finally making a name for herself in Hollywood. But the agreeable, confident persona she presents to the world often feels like a deception to Maggie, who&’s long grappled with mental illness and feelings of inadequacy. Enter Joanna Hergert, a neurodiverse middle-aged woman who lives with her elderly mother. Maggie&’s husband, Jim, introduces her to the pair after meeting them at a local charbroiled chicken franchise. Over the next several years, she forms a friendship with Joanna and her mother—despite Joanna&’s robust romantic fixation on Jim. What begins as a mild curiosity soon blooms into a complicated and intimate friendship that will challenge Maggie to confront her mental health issues and the trade-offs she&’s made to live life on her own terms. Engrossing, moving, and wickedly funny, Easy Street is a midlife coming-of-age buddy comedy about embracing the strength of the families we fashion, finding peace with the choices we make, and, above all, learning to be compassionate with ourselves.Facing the Music: a Broadway memoir
By David Loud. 2022
Musical Director and arranger David Loud, a legendary Broadway talent, recounts his wildly entertaining and deeply poignant trek through the…
wilderness of his childhood and the edge-of-your-seat drama of a career on, in, under, and around Broadway for decades. He reveals his struggle against the ravages of Parkinson's and triumphs repeatedly. This memoir is also a remarkable love letter to music. Loud is the 'Ted Lasso' of the theater business, ever the optimist!&“&‘Music has consequences,&’ a wise teacher once told a young David Loud; so does a story well-told and a life fully-lived. I lost count of how many times I laughed, cried, and laugh-cried reading this wonderful, wry, intimate, and inspiring book. David wields a pen like he wields a baton, with perfect timing, exquisite phrasing, and enormous heart.&” — David Hyde Pierce, actor, Frasier, Spamalot, Curtains &“Beautifully written, filled with vivid details, braided with love and loss and wit and the perspective of someone with an utterly unique story to tell." -- Lynn Ahrens, lyricist, Ragtime, Once on This Island, Anastasia &“Luminous and surprising, an extremely honest memoir of a life lived in the world of Broadway musicals, by one of the theatre&’s most gifted conductors. I can&’t think of another book quite like it.&” -- John Kander, composer, Cabaret, Chicago, New York, New York Unforgettably entertaining and emotionally revealing, Loud is pitch-perfect as he describes his path to the podium, from a stage-struck kid growing up at a school devoted to organic farming and mountain climbing, to the searing formative challenges he faces during adolescence, to the remarkable behind-the-scenes stories of his Broadway trials and triumphs. Skilled at masking his fears, Loud achieves his dream until one fateful opening night, when in the midst of a merry, dressing room celebration, he can no longer deny reality and must suddenly, truly, face the music.Her Name Was Margaret: Life and Death on the Streets
By Denise Davy. 2021
At age eighteen, Margaret Jacobson was admitted to the Ontario Hospital, later renamed the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital. Years later, she…
died homeless and alone in the city. With meticulous research and deep compassion Denise Davy has pieced together Margaret's story – from promising student to patient, to homeless woman, to an unmarked grave – and asks us to look hard at the system that buried her there.No Bad Days: How to Find Joy in Any Circumstance
By Jt Jester. 2022
In No Bad Days, JT Jester shares his against-all-odds story of overcoming countless physical and learning challenges to help others…
find joy in any circumstance and understand that there are no bad days—only hard ones. By the time JT Jester was three years old, he had spent 250 days in the hospital, and he endured sixteen major surgeries before he was sixteen. Diagnosed with VATER/VACTERL Syndrome, a rare combination of several birth defects. JT&’s life was anything but easy. On top of his physical challenges, he suffered dyslexia and short-term memory loss, which made learning nearly impossible for him. Yet JT pushed past his physical and educational roadblocks to achieve what many people told him he would never do—learn to read, graduate from high school, attend college, and become a successful motivational speaker, influential podcast host, and bestselling author. In No Bad Days, JT details the incredible story of how he overcame what seemed like insurmountable odds and shares the many invaluable lessons he has learned throughout his life in the hope that others might reach their full potential. These lessons include how to: Find Your Tribe, Pull Off the Label, Stretch Yourself, Listen to Others, and Learn to Fall. JT&’s improbable life story is evidence that regardless of the mental and physical challenges you might face, you can defy the odds to create the life you want and accomplish the things you&’ve only dreamed about. His remarkable journey is all the proof you need. Through his story, and the inspiring stories of others, JT Jester shows readers how to find joy in any circumstance and proves that there are really no bad days—only hard ones.Driven: How adversity helped me find my greatest potential
By Steph The Hammer Hammerman. 2022
Steph Hammerman has been motivating herself and others her entire life. Since defying the odds by surviving as a one-pound,…
fifteen-ounce baby and weeks later being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, to beating Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 3B cancer in 2016, Steph has been a living example of overcoming seemingly insurmountable objects in order to achieve the impossible.Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—and a Love Letter to a Way of Life
By Nyle DiMarco, Robert Siebert. 2022
A heartfelt and inspiring memoir and celebration of Deaf culture by Nyle DiMarco, actor, producer, two-time reality show winner, and…
cultural icon of the international Deaf communityBefore becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents.In this engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions.Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience.Deaf Utopia is intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, eye-opening, and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful.My Two Elaines: Learning, Coping, and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver
By Martin J Schreiber. 2022
In My Two Elaines, author Marty Schreiber, former governor of Wisconsin, watches his beloved wife, Elaine, gradually transform from the…
woman he fell in love with in high school, and who diligently supported his political career, to the Elaine who knows she is declining and can&’t remember how to cook a meal, and finally to the Elaine who no longer recognizes Marty or their children.One part love story, one part practical advice, this compelling book includes several unique elements:Excerpts from Elaine&’s journal, recounting her thoughts, concerns, and frustrations as the disease progressesA recurring feature called &“What I Wish I&’d Known,&” which provides helpful takeaways for caregivers based on Marty&’s observations about what he wishes he&’d known sooner and done differentlyA Q&A between Marty and neuropsychologist Dr. Michelle Braun, to equip caregivers with the right questions to ask and empower them to advocate for their loved ones and their own needsBeyond sincere, practical advice, My Two Elaines gives the reader permission to feel the full spectrum of emotions, including humor, even in the face of this relentless illness. And the book speaks to anyone touched by this disease--spouse, child, friend, or family member.The Power of Dyslexic Thinking: How a Learning (dis)Ability Shaped Six Successful Careers
By Robert W. Langston. 2010
Robert Langston shares the inspirational stories of people who overcame the hurdles of living with dyslexia to become influential business…
and cultural leaders. From Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea to prominent financier Charles Schwab to Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mike Peters, Langston profiles some of the biggest players in the business world and elsewhere to paint amazing portraits of courage and dedication. Through both research and personal experience, Langston has come to believe that dyslexia is a condition that does not need curing, but rather a greater understanding of the different capabilities and skills it can provide those who have it. He hopes that understanding more about the creative and intuitive benefits of dyslexia will allow educators and parents, as well as dyslexic children, to see dyslexia not as a disability, but as a gift.Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD
By Jason Kander. 2022
From political wunderkind and former army intelligence officer Jason Kander comes a haunting, powerful memoir about impossible choices—and how sometimes…
walking away from the chance of a lifetime can be the greatest decision of all. In 2017, President Obama, in his final Oval Office interview, was asked who gave him hope for the future of the country, and Jason Kander was the first name he mentioned. Suddenly, Jason was a national figure. As observers assumed he was preparing a run for the presidency, Jason announced a bid for mayor of Kansas City instead and was headed for a landslide victory. But after eleven years battling PTSD from his service in Afghanistan, Jason was seized by depression and suicidal thoughts. He dropped out of the mayor’s race and out of public life. And finally, he sought help. In this brutally honest second memoir, following his New York Times best-selling debut Outside the Wire, Jason Kander has written the book he himself needed in the most painful moments of his PTSD. In candid, in-the-moment detail, we see him struggle with undiagnosed illness during a presidential bid; witness his family buoy him through challenging treatment; and, giving hope to so many of us, see him heal. New York Times Bestseller