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Miracle Boy Grows Up: How The Disability Rights Revolution Saved My Sanity (2012)

by Ben Mattlin(Favorite Author)

3.76 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1616087315 (ISBN13: 9781616087319)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Skyhorse

review 1: Books such as this one remind me why I love memoirs so much! Ben was born with a serious, crippling health problem. Growing up with parents who encouraged him (and helped him) to find ways to move around in his world, he gained self-confidence and maintained a wonderful sense of humor about himself and his world. He finished public school, and made friends. He always had a heart for words and writing, and when he entered Harvard University, he wrote some articles for different magazines. Some of his works were regarding his disability, some were not. He spoke with his editors and prospective employers over the phone, and never mentioned that he was wheelchair-bound. As he grew into adulthood, the civil rights movement had moved from race to other discriminatory issues, inc... moreluding physical/mental disability. He became involved in the movement, writing articles and seeing more and more accommodations for the disabled in the public arena. He married, and fathered two little girls. His wife became his primary 'assistant' (he didn't like the term 'caregiver', and with all of his paid assistants he maintained the employer/employee relationship, never taking on the 'victim' role). Ben had years of good health (relative to his disability), and some times of serious problems requiring hospitalization. Through all of life's ups and downs, Ben moved forward and sought to maintain his productivity even in the face of increasing weakness and disability. Brutally honest about his life and his body, the book gives great insight into a strong personality trapped inside a fragile body. Loved it.
review 2: I think it's cool that Mr. Mattlin introduces the reader to some of the big names in 'disability theory'/'disability thought'? I read the first half of the book really quickly, but the second half just started to wear on me for some reason. Someone's life is someone's life, and it doesn't seem right or fair to say that you didn't 'like' their story... but there was just something that bothered me about this book. That being said, I really admire the Mattlin family--especially ML. less

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