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Walking Papers: The Accident That Changed My Life, And The Business That Got Me Back On My Feet (2010)

by Francesco Clark(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

140132343X (ISBN13: 9781401323431)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Hachette Books

review 1: A memoir by a young man who, at the age of 24, unwittingly dove into the shallow end of an unfamiliar pool and changed his life forever. Paralyzed from the neck down, Clark was thrust into a whole new world that he'd never imagined. Frankly, it was one that I'd never imagined either.I think that this is the biggest strength of Clark's memoir: he does such a fantastic job of explaining all of the obstacles that a paralyzed person faces, including plenty of aspects that I had never thought of before. For example, I never realized how difficult it is for people who are paralyzed to breathe on their own because they find it hard to expand and contract their chest muscles. Of course, this makes perfect sense, but it had never occurred to me! This book was filled with lots of th... moreat kind of "oh yeah" moment for me.Another strength of this book is Clark himself, his determination to get better. In the immediate aftermath of his accident, he was told he'd be on a ventilator for the rest of his life. But that didn't work for him, so through a combination of singing and yoga breathing exercises, he made himself strong enough to breathe without the aid of machines. How amazing is that? How many people could say that they would have the same amount of determination? I know that I couldn't say that I would. (I also know that I wouldn't have the kind of support from my family that Clark has - what a lucky man!) Clark's determination sees him make many such improvements in his life, achieving lots of things all of his doctors and therapists said he never would. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't inspiring.One downside of the book is that it got a bit repetitive for me, something that I suppose is somewhat understandable - I mean, most of our lives are fairly repetitive; if I wrote a memoir of the last month of my life, it would consist of a lot of "and then I sat on the couch and watched Netflix." Haha. Also, the last few chapters of the book seemed a touch like a commercial for his skin care line, Clark's Botanicals. Also understandable, but it did feel a little forced.
review 2: I enjoyed this book. It shows how resilient the human spirit is and how much you can achieve with the love and support of your family and friends. Even though I wasnt paralyzed there were times when I could barely make it out of bed so I can relate to his feelings of just wanting to do something but not being able. Another great thing to come out of this book is the skincare products that he created - for years I have been searching for skin care products for my terrible skin - I have rosacea and get terrible lupus sores - I am definitely going to try his products and see if they help! less

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