Disability Memoir

Blind from birth, Graeme Innes was blessed with a family who refused to view his blindness as a handicap, instilling in him a belief in his own abilities; blessed with a determination to persevere. After a long and successful career as a lawyer, company director and Human Rights Commissioner, Graeme has written his story. Finding a Way shares his memories of love and support, challenges, failures and overcoming the discrimination so many people with disabilities face.

Pascuala Herrera, a Mexican immigrant woman with a physical disability resulting from childhood polio, had the odds against her, yet she conquered simply by working hard, having unfailing faith, and finding her own life purpose. Although her mother always told her that life was a valley of tears, Pascuala learned that although there were many difficult moments in her life, there were also beautiful miracles that happened every day.

This book is a reflection of a mother’s experience when her daughter, after a sudden severe headache, was diagnosed with a torn brain aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation in the cerebellum. TJ, Evie’s brother, also shares his experience.

Don entered the workforce as a young man barely out of high school, full of enthusiasm and idealism. He soon received a reality check about corporate America. Raised in the middle class, he believed in the value system of an honest day's work for an honest wage. That by doing what was "right" and working hard, he would succeed. The Company Store, however, had other plans for him and his coworkers - the American working class.

This audiobook is about the life of Alberto. He is a special man with disabilities, diagnosed with both Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis as a toddler. Alberto is an aspiring writer, who uses an augmentative alternative communication device (AAC) to speak. He enjoys music, movies, and social media. He currently resides in Irvine, California. This audiobook spans his life from the day he was born in San Pedro, California through his graduation from Valley Senior High School, Santa Ana, California. The audiobook takes you through the humorous and memorable moments of his life.

CANCER WITHOUT FEAR–A YEAR TO LIVE is the remarkable unconventional story of Chuck Sirko's terminal cancer diagnosis. When Chuck refused mainstream's “Gold Standard of Care”, his wife Jacqueline dedicated herself to researching alternative methods of treatment. The goal: to make Chuck’s remaining time free from any repercussions of radiation and chemotherapy and to live life to the fullest.

Linda Olson and her husband, Dave Hodgens, were young doctors whose story had all the makings of a fairy tale. But then, while they were vacationing in Germany, a train hit their van, shattering their lives - and Linda's body. Inspiring and deeply moving, Gone asks listeners to find not only courage, but also laughter in the unexpected challenges we all face. The day of the accident, no one envied Linda and Dave. Today, many do.

Desperate to alleviate her son's constant rages and their crushing toll on the family, Donnie Kanter Winokur comes up with an innovative, untested, four-pawed solution: a golden retriever service dog named Chancer. Chancer is specially trained to give Iyal a unique love he desperately needs. But in this true-life tale infused with moments of despair, tenderness, and humor, Chancer turns out to be what the entire family has needed to stay - and grow - together.

Connected at the chest by a band of flesh, Chang and Eng Bunker toured the United States and the world from the 1820s to the 1870s, placing themselves and their extraordinary bodies on exhibit as "freaks of nature". More famously known as the Siamese twins, they eventually settled in rural North Carolina, married two white sisters, became slave owners, and fathered 21 children between them. More than a biography of the twins, this is a study of 19th-century American culture and society that reveals how Americans projected onto the twins their own hopes and fears.

Growing Up Disabled in Australia is the fifth book in the highly acclaimed, best-selling Growing Up series. It includes interviews with prominent Australians such as Senator Jordon Steele-John and Paralympian Isis Holt.

When Schuyler Rummel-Hudson was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor to doctor, and from despair to hope, and back again.

The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age 24 by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled". Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life.

British TV reporter Ron Onions was based in New York at a momentous period of US history, covering the moon landings and the assassination of Martin Luther King. Yet at the same time as his high-flying career was taking this transatlantic turn, he was facing tough choices at home: his younger daughter, four-year-old Lulu had been born without a thyroid gland, and her resulting severely disruptive symptoms posed a huge challenge for her caring family.

Nadeem's journey is a story told by a mother about her son—it’s not just about a mothers love, it also shows his compassion towards her, his siblings, family and friends. It shows us how he never let his illness define who he was even when the doctors were curt and less kind with their delivery of information. This book tells us the story about a fight to survive, a story about a mother’s love for a child and a story about how a community comes together to support each other.

Seeing Beyond the Shadows provides a window into the life of a blind individual. Burton addresses some of the obstacles that people with visual impairments encounter, such as the issue of transportation, the low employment problem, and the overall lack of opportunities that impede progress. She provides firsthand accounts of her own experiences navigating these obstacles and relates her faith journey as she has come to rely on God’s guidance.

The art of avoiding diabetes and its complications has been known to humankind for over 2500 years. Yet, people have not learned to live with it. Is it impossible for a person with diabetes to live healthy for his entire lifespan? Embark on an extraordinary journey with Dr. Kamal Kant Lal as he shares a deeply personal odyssey in How I Fell in Love with My Diabetes. This memoir isn't just about managing diabetes, it's an inspiring testament to resilience, self-discovery, and a radical shift in perspective towards living with this condition.

After 35 years, the author knows many of the ins and outs of living with Multiple Sclerosis. JJ Leander went from a promise of a wheelchair ride toward an early death, to a winning formula for surviving into Old Age that is anything but a quick trip to the funeral home.

Blinded at age three, Mike May defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May's vision.

The Awakening of HK Derryberry is the inspiring story of how one man was willing to step out of his upper-middle-class world into the life of a young, disabled boy with a dismal future but an amazing ability. Little did Jim Bradford know the transformational potential of that friendship - for HK and himself.

As a US Army infantryman in World War II, Don Wedewer was twice wounded in four days. On both occasions, he was left for dead. Now he was a double amputee and blind with seemingly no hope for the future. Yet through extraordinary determination and persistence, this highly decorated combat veteran overcame seemingly impossible odds to become a state and national leader in providing opportunities for those with visions loss. This is Don Wedewer's story. For more information visit www.bravestguy.com.