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Showing 61 - 80 of 301 items
By Tricia McGill. 2019
In the 1930s medicine was still very much a hit and miss affair. The surgeons were still experimenting and learning…
about the human body. This at a period when there was little in the way of pain relief. This is one woman’s story about a childhood ruined by such surgeons, whose bad judgement confined an eight-year-old subsequently to bed for three years and left her with a disability to last a lifetime. Nowadays she would have been given bed rest and pain relief, and in no time would have been up and running again. Her strong will, and the love of a close family, saw her through the bad times, enabling her to go on and become the talented, remarkable person she was. I know because this woman was my sister.By Haben Girma. 2019
The incredible life story of Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from…
isolation to the world stage. Haben grew up spending summers with her family in the enchanting Eritrean city of Asmara. There, she discovered courage as she faced off against a bull she couldn't see, and found in herself an abiding strength as she absorbed her parents' harrowing experiences during Eritrea's thirty-year war with Ethiopia. Their refugee story inspired her to embark on a quest for knowledge, traveling the world in search of the secret to belonging. She explored numerous fascinating places, including Mali, where she helped build a school under the scorching Saharan sun. Her many adventures over the years range from the hair-raising to the hilarious. Haben defines disability as an opportunity for innovation. She learned non-visual techniques for everything from dancing salsa to handling an electric saw. She developed a text-to-braille communication system that created an exciting new way to connect with people. Haben pioneered her way through obstacles, graduated from Harvard Law, and now uses her talents to advocate for people with disabilities. HABEN takes readers through a thrilling game of blind hide-and-seek in Louisiana, a treacherous climb up an iceberg in Alaska, and a magical moment with President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating memoir is a testament to one woman's determination to find the keys to connection.By Mary Herring Wright. 2019
Originally published in 1999, Sounds Like Home adds an important dimension to the canon of deaf literature by presenting the…
perspective of an African American deaf woman who attended a segregated deaf school. Mary Herring Wright documents her life from the mid-1920s to the early 1940s, offering a rich account of her home life in rural North Carolina and her education at the North Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind, which had a separate campus for African American students. This 20th anniversary edition of Wright’s story includes a new introduction by scholars Joseph Hill and Carolyn McCaskill, who note that the historical documents and photographs of segregated Black deaf schools have mostly been lost. Sounds Like Home serves “as a permanent witness to the lives of Black Deaf people.”By Kitty Ferguson. 2011
Kitty Ferguson, the award-winning and international bestselling author of Stephen Hawking’s biography, presents an even deeper portrait of the legendary…
physicist’s life and scientific theories.This updated edition of Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind looks at one of the most remarkable figures of our age: the bestselling author of A Brief History of Time, celebrated theoretical physicist, and an inspiration to millions around the world. Ferguson offers fresh insights into the way Hawking thinks and works, his ever-more-imaginative adventures in science at the “flaming ramparts of the world,” the discovery of gravity waves, the blockbuster proposal for “Starshot” to explore the cosmos, and his powerful use of his celebrity on behalf of human rights and survival on earth and beyond.With rare access to Hawking, including childhood photos and in-depth research, Ferguson creates a rich and comprehensive picture of his life: his childhood; the heartbreaking ALS diagnosis when he was a first-year graduate student; his long personal battle for survival in pursuit of a scientific understanding of the universe; and his rise to international fame. She also uses her gift for translating the language of theoretical physics into the language of the rest of us to make Hawking’s scientific work accessible.This is an insightful, absorbing, and definitive account of a brilliant mind and the extraordinary life of a man who always looks towards tomorrow.By Kevan Chandler. 2019
Kevan is just one of the guys. It's impossible to know him and not become a little more excited about…
life. He is an inspiring man permeated by joy, unafraid of sorrow, full of vitality and life! His sense of humor is infectious and so is his story.He grew up, he says, at "belt-buckle level" and stayed there until Kevan's beloved posse decided to leave his wheelchair at the Atlanta airport, board a plane for France, and have his friends carry him around Europe to accomplish their dream to see the world together! Kevan's beloved posse traveled to Paris, England, and Ireland where, in the climax of their adventure, they scale 600 feet up to the 1,400-year-old monastic fortress of Skellig Michael.In WE CARRY KEVAN the reader sits with Kevan, one head-level above everyone else for the first time in his life and enjoys camaraderie unlike anything most people ever experience. Along the way they encounter the curiosity and beauty of strangers, the human family disarmed by grace, and the constant love of God so rich and beautiful in the company of good friends. WE CARRY KEVAN displays the profound power of friendship and self-sacrifice.By Bernadette Agius. 2019
This inspiring, heartfelt, and powerful memoir by a mother of a child with Down syndrome explores the incredible blessings and…
challenges of raising a child with disabilities. When Bernadette Agius—an ambitious career-focused woman—became pregnant, she imagined her unborn child attending the best schools and dazzling everyone with his impressive wit, charm, and intelligence. But when the doctors placed her baby boy in her arms and told Bernadette he had Down syndrome, those dreams instantly disappeared. While her first impulse was to fight against this new reality, she soon found the strength to become the champion her son, Richard, would need and deserved. With the help of her husband and a newfound village of professionals, Bernadette forged a new life, discovering along the way that everyone has a different version of normal. Ultimately Richard, now thirty, was able to defy expectation and become an independent adult. Grounded in love, offering a message of hope, and told with humor and honesty, I’m Staying at Richard’s shines a light on the fierce, unwavering love of a mother for her son.By David Sorensen. 2019
In his memoir, David Sorensen explores his identity as a coda, or a child of Deaf adults. He describes his…
experiences with the roles often placed on codas at a young age, such as interpreter, confidant, and decision-maker. His story reveals a person seeking acceptance and belonging while straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, and shows how he found reconciliation within himself and with both worlds. Sorensen relays the dynamics of his family life; he had a strained relationship with his father, who was an active leader and role model in the Deaf community and the Mormon Church, yet struggled to bond with his own son. Sorensen rebelled as a youth and left home as a teenager, completely detaching from the Deaf community. After struggling to establish himself as an independent adult, he discovered that he wanted to return to the Deaf world and use his ASL fluency and cultural understanding as a mental health therapist and community advocate. Now he considers himself an ambassador between the Deaf and hearing worlds, as well as between the older and younger generations of Deaf people. Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults shares the unique experiences of a coda and passes on the rich cultural past shared by the American Deaf community.By David Sorensen. 2019
In his memoir, David Sorensen explores his identity as a coda, or a child of Deaf adults. He describes his…
experiences with the roles often placed on codas at a young age, such as interpreter, confidant, and decision-maker. His story reveals a person seeking acceptance and belonging while straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, and shows how he found reconciliation within himself and with both worlds. Sorensen relays the dynamics of his family life; he had a strained relationship with his father, who was an active leader and role model in the Deaf community and the Mormon Church, yet struggled to bond with his own son. Sorensen rebelled as a youth and left home as a teenager, completely detaching from the Deaf community. After struggling to establish himself as an independent adult, he discovered that he wanted to return to the Deaf world and use his ASL fluency and cultural understanding as a mental health therapist and community advocate. Now he considers himself an ambassador between the Deaf and hearing worlds, as well as between the older and younger generations of Deaf people. Between Two Worlds: My Life as a Child of Deaf Adults shares the unique experiences of a coda and passes on the rich cultural past shared by the American Deaf community.By Barbara Moran, Karl Williams. 2018
“…Insights from a time when a young person with autism grew up in a world where nobody understood them!” –…
Temple Grandin, author, Thinking in PicturesBarbara Moran has never known how to be good.As a child, she made strange noises, fidgeted constantly, and licked her lips until they cracked. She had “upsets” that embarrassed and frustrated her family. Worse still, she developed friendships with inanimate objects—everything from roller skates to tables to an antique refrigerator—and became obsessed with images of cathedrals.She was institutionalized, analyzed, and marginalized, cast aside as not trying hard enough to fit in.But after almost forty years, Barbara was given an answer for her inability to be like, and to connect with, other people: autism.Hello, Stranger is the story of a misunderstood life that serves as an eye-opening call for compassion. Bracingly honest, Barbara describes the profound loneliness of being abandoned and judged while also expressing her deep yearning simply to be loved and to give love.Hello, Stranger is a challenge to every reader to see the beauty and the humanity present in every individual.“An extraordinary look at autism from the inside – by turns heartbreaking, uplifting, illuminating, witty, and wise.” – Steve Silberman, author, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of NeurodiversityBy Freya Lewis. 2020
The Manchester Arena attack nearly destroyed her.Love and courage saved her.Freya Lewis was just three metres away from the terrorist…
who detonated the bomb at the Manchester arena on the night of 22nd May 2017. Her best friend Nell was tragically killed, but Freya - thrown forwards by the blast - somehow survived. She suffered 29 separate injuries, was in a coma for five days, and wheelchair-bound for three months.Yet just 12 months later, she was on her feet, running the Junior Great Manchester Run and raising £60,000 for the hospital that saved her. From her darkest moment, she found the determination to live life to the fullest, for herself, and for those who lost their lives.This is Freya's courageous story. But it is also the story of the amazing community that surrounded her, uplifted her, and ultimately saved her life.What Makes Us Stronger is a testament to the power of hope and positivity.By Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner. 2019
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right…
to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. A story of fighting to belong in a world that wasn't built for all of us and of one woman's activism--from the streets of Brooklyn and San Francisco to inside the halls of Washington--Being Heumann recounts Judy Heumann's lifelong battle to achieve respect, acceptance, and inclusion in society. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy's struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a "fire hazard" to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher's license because of her paralysis, Judy's actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. As a young woman, Judy rolled her wheelchair through the doors of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in San Francisco as a leader of the Section 504 Sit-In, the longest takeover of a governmental building in US history. Working with a community of over 150 disabled activists and allies, Judy successfully pressured the Carter administration to implement protections for disabled peoples' rights, sparking a national movement and leading to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann's memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.By Kevin Atlas. 2020
Be inspired by the story of Kevin Atlas (formerly Laue), whose faith and perseverance helped him become an NCAA Division…
I basketball player, despite being born with only one arm.Even before entering the world, Kevin Atlas was a fighter. He should have died in childbirth, as the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, but he survived because his left arm was in the middle of it, allowing blood to flow to his brain. But since circulation was cut off in that arm, he was born with his left arm ending just below his elbow. GET IN THE GAME is Kevin's story of transformation: Moving from anger to joy. From embarrassment to confidence. From the sidelines and wishing his life was different to getting in the game and showing who he is. Kevin's arduous journey to earning a scholarship to Manhattan College in New York City and becoming the first NCAA Division I basketball player missing a limb has given him keen insights to help anyone who feels trapped and defeated by less-than-perfect circumstances, whether physical, mental, or environmental. Kevin doesn't encourage readers to simply accept and live with their challenges, hurts, and losses. He spurs them on to believe any weakness can, in reality, become the one thing that propels them to achieve their greatest potential. As Kevin has learned throughout his life, you can't win if you don't get in the game!An International Bestseller, the Story behind Henry Markram&’s Breakthrough Theory about Autism, and How a Family&’s Unconditional Love Led to…
a Scientific Paradigm Shift Henry Markram is the Elon Musk of neuroscience, the man behind the billion-dollar Blue Brain Project to build a supercomputer model of the brain. He has set the goal of decoding all disturbances of the mind within a generation. This quest is personal for him. The driving force behind his grand ambition has been his son Kai, who has autism. Raising Kai made Henry Markram question all that he thought he knew about neuroscience, and then inspired his groundbreaking research that would upend the conventional wisdom about autism, expressed in his now-famous theory of Intense World Syndrome. When Kai was first diagnosed, his father consulted studies and experts. He knew as much about the human brain as almost anyone but still felt as helpless as any parent confronted with this condition in his child. What&’s more, the scientific consensus that autism was a deficit of empathy didn&’t mesh with Markram&’s experience of his son. He became convinced that the disorder, which has seen a 657 percent increase in diagnoses over the past decade, was fundamentally misunderstood. Bringing his world-class research to bear on the problem, he devised a radical new theory of the disorder: People like Kai don&’t feel too little; they feel too much. Their senses are too delicate for this world.By Likewise. 2017
Ambitious is an autobiography that chronicles the life of a remarkable man who overcame his learning disabilities and other major difficulties…
to become a highly respected and successful adult.This book is an autobiography that chronicles the life of a remarkable man who overcame his learning disabilities and other major difficulties to become a highly respected and successful adult. For many, only one of these issues he faced would have been enough of a reason to give up. Not so with Likewise who always found creative solutions in order to grow and succeed. It was his desire to share these experiences with others in hopes that he could help them realize their potential no matter what challenges they face.By Alice Crespo. 2013
Alice Crespo was born in New York City, raised in Brooklyn, and grew up totally blind. She had to learn…
many things, and she realized that, with God's help, there was nothing that she couldn't do. The sky was the limit. Alice is now sixty years of age, and she wants to share her experiences and her life lessons with you. Here is her story. Contains image descriptions.By Michael Hingson, Susy Flory. 2011
A blind man and his guide dog show the power of trust and courage in the midst of devastating terror.…
It was 12:30 a. m. on 9/11 and Roselle whimpered at Michael's bedside. A thunderstorm was headed east, and she could sense the distant rumbles while her owners slept. As a trained guide dog, when she was "on the clock" nothing could faze her. But that morning, without her harness, she was free to be scared, and she nudged Michael's hand with her wet nose as it draped over the bedside toward the floor. She needed him to wake up. With a busy day of meetings and an important presentation ahead, Michael slumped out of bed, headed to his home office, and started chipping away at his daunting workload. Roselle, shivering, took her normal spot at his feet and rode out the storm while he typed. By all indications it was going to be a normal day. A busy day, but normal nonetheless. Until they went into the office. In Thunder Dog, follow Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, as their lives are changed forever by two explosions and 1,463 stairs. When the first plane struck Tower One, an enormous boom, frightening sounds, and muffled voices swept through Michael's office while shards of glass and burning scraps of paper fell outside the windows. But in this harrowing story of trust and courage, discover how blindness and a bond between dog and man saved lives and brought hope during one of America's darkest days.By Kyle Maynard. 2005
From the Book Jacket: He was born a congenital amputee, his arms ending at his elbows and his legs at…
his knees. But that didn't stop Kyle Maynard from becoming a champion, on the wrestling mat and in his life. KYLE MAYNARD was born in 1986 with a rare disorder called congenital amputation. He has no forearms, shortened legs, and stands only four feet tall. Yet Kyle has learned to live a full and active life. Besides dealing with everyday challenges, he is an excellent student, has impeccable handwriting, and can type fifty words a minute. A competitor to the core, Kyle was determined to succeed as an athlete. Through hard work, the support of his family, and a coach who designed new wrestling moves like the "jawbreaker" and "buzz saw," Kyle became one of the top high school wrestlers in the state of Georgia. In 2005, he broke the world record in the modified bench press by lifting 360 pounds, three times his body weight. Kyle is the 2004 ESPY Award Winner (Best Athlete with a Disability) and a recipient of the President's Award for the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. He is currently a student at the University of Georgia.By Tom Sullivan, Derek L. Gill. 1975
This memoir traces the life of Tom Sullivan from premature birth to age 26. Born blind from too much oxygen…
in his preemie incubator, he is alternately overprotected and set loose. His parents both encourage and hinder him. Mr Sullivan graduates from Perkins School for the Blind with many records, including most number of suspensions. He eventually graduates from Harvard, and pursues a life with music. He marries and has two children.By Erik Weihenmayer. 2002
The incredible, inspiring story of world-class climber Erik Weihenmayer, from the terrible diagnosis that foretold of the loss of his…
eyesight, to his dream to climb mountains, and finally his quest to reach each of the Seven Summits. Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would progressively unravel his retinas. Erik learned from doctors that he was destined to lose his sight by age thirteen. Yet from early on, he was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling, exciting life. In Touch the Top of the World, Erik recalls his struggle to push past the limits placed on him by his visual impairment--and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight; the father who encouraged him to strive for that unreachable mountaintop. Erik was the first blind man to summit McKinley. Soon he became the first blind person to scale the infamous 3000-foot rock wall of El Capitan and then Argentina's Aconcagua, the highest peak outside of Asia. He was married to his longtime sweetheart at 13,000 feet on the Shira Plateau on his way to Kilimanjaro's summit, and recently Erik scaled Polar Circus, the 30,000-foot vertical ice wall in Alberta, Canada. Erik's story is about having the vision to dream big; the courage to reach for near impossible goals; and the grit, determination, and ingenuity to transform our lives into "something miraculous. "To download an audio excerpt from Touch the Top of the World, visit the American Foundation for the Blind Web site.