Books

Book Review: Get Fit in Bed: Tone Your Body & Calm Your Mind from the Comfort of Your Bed

afresch — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:03:00 GMT

Get Fit in Bed: Tone Your Body & Calm Your Mind from the Comfort of Your Bed by Genie Tartell and Ted Kavanau details a series of 42 exercises you can do right from your own bed. These exercises are low- or no-impact, but you’ll feel the results (and see them, too), and they can be used at night, in the morning, while watching TV, or even while on the phone.

The exercises draw upon yoga, Pilates, karate, and stretching and are grouped into three sections: those to be done on your back, on your sides, and on your stomach. Each exercise is described in detail, fully illustrated with a series of step-by-step color photos, and includes modifications for specific health and lifestyle conditions. This book offers the reader exercises for every joint intersection, even the extremities (feet, hands and cervical spine) are addressed—the areas are usually forgotten in most exercise programs. Studies show that exercising before bed can induce a calm and restful sleep, and these exercises are ideally suited to that use.

Get Fit in Bed is a clear, comprehensive guide to a unique workout that reduces stress, builds flexibility and muscle tone, and improves sleep, all from the comfort (and the convenience) of your own bed. Anyone can benefit from this simple program, but it is especially useful to seniors, those recovering from surgery or injury, those with joint problems, those with limited mobility, and other people unable to participate in a conventional exercise program—or just the many, many of us who can never find time for the gym.

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Publish date: August 3, 2006
130 pages
ISBN-10: 1572244607
ISBN-13: 978-1572244603

Book Review: Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook

afresch — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook by Marcie Davis and Melissa Bunnell, featuring a foreword by Betty White, is a comprehensive resource book and guide to service dogs. It is a well-written, thorough, yet concise and easy-to-follow resource for anyone who wants or needs to learn more this powerful human-animal partnership.

Topics covered include important questions readers should ask a potential service dog agency, training received by the owner at the agency, how a service dog can improve access to the world, nutrition, grooming, proper exercise, and coping with the loss of a service dog—this last concern, especially, was handled with compassion. Included are personal stories, checklists, practical tips, full-color photographs, and extensive appendices of service dog resources and performance standards for service dogs.

This book is geared mainly to those who are obtaining a dog for the first time from an established training and placement agency (for example, it is light on technical training information, and owner-trained dogs are addressed and dismissed in one sentence) and as such will not be of as much use to those who training their own service dogs. Despite this, Working Like Dogs remains a must-read for those who are considering a service dog, own a service dog, are raising or are responsible for the care of a service dog, or just plain love dogs.

Also recommended: Teamwork and Teamwork II by Stewart Nordensson and Lydia Kelley.

Publisher: Alpine Publications
Publish date: March 10, 2007
144 pages
ISBN-10: 1577790863
ISBN-13: 978-1577790860

Book Review: Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:00:00 GMT

With a little adaptation, yoga can be mentally and physically therapeutic for people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). That is the main idea behind Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing, a book by Dr. Loren Fishman and Eric Small.

The authors propose in Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis that primary benefits of yoga for people with MS include reducing functional deficits, increasing self-reliance and steadying the mind.

Rather than getting lost in jargon that only the initiated will understand, Fishman and Small disseminate their knowledge in a lucid manner that readers who have never tried yoga will appreciate. Also, the many photographs sprinkled throughout the pages are helpful visual cues for readers when they attempt the different poses.

Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis has its credibility boosted considerably by the fact that the two authors have decades of experience with using yoga as a way to manage symptoms of MS. Small began participating in yoga after being diagnosed with MS when he was 22, and he has been teaching yoga since the mid-1960s. Fishman has incorporated yoga into his work with rehabilitation for more than 25 years.

With this book, people with MS stand to gain a progressive education on safely and effectively practicing yoga.

Publisher: Demos Health
Publish date: May 2007
240 pages
ISBN-10: 1932603174
ISBN-13: 978-1932603170

Book Review: Facing the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:33:00 GMT

In Facing the Cognitive Challenges of Multiple Sclerosis, author Jeffrey N. Gingold details the confusion that clouds his mind as a result of having multiple sclerosis (MS).

Gingold’s firsthand accounts of incidents where he has dealt with cognitive difficulties – a common symptom of MS – are bound to be relatable for many people with MS. Reading Gingold’s anecdotes about MS-related incidents he has experienced, such as becoming lost while driving near his home, may help to relieve any feelings of embarrassment that people who have MS are keeping to themselves after facing similar situations.

This book goes a step further than being simply a memoir by featuring resources to assist readers who might also be experiencing cognitive difficulties. Gingold describes how to recognize cognitive difficulties, and then encourages readers to become educated about MS and make changes to maintain a satisfying quality of life.

By addressing a symptom of MS that is sometimes left out of discussions because of embarrassment or a failure to recognize it, Gingold has provided MS patients and their families with a valuable source of empathy and advice on coping with the disease.

Publisher: Demos Medical Publishing
Publish date: April 2006
160 pages
ISBN-10: 1932603603
ISBN-13: 978-1932603606

Universal Design for the Home a Book With Universal Appeal

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:40:00 GMT

Anyone who has ever toured an apartment and discovered that the doorframes and showerheads were far too low, or who would have bought that dream home if only it had been wheelchair accessible, should check out Universal Design for the Home: Great-Looking, Great-Living Design for All Ages, Abilities, And Circumstances by Wendy A. Jordan.

This book covers universal design principles, which can be used during the building or remodeling process to make homes accessible to everyone regardless of height, weight, age, level of ability or any other characteristic.

As an example of her target audience, Jordan points to the “sandwich generation.” These are the people who find themselves taking care of both their children and parents, which means their homes are full of residents who have different needs. Tips offered in the book such as having smooth, slip-resistant flooring and an open floor plan are beneficial for increasing safety for both the elderly and children.

The attention to small details in Universal Design for the Home makes this book stand out as a work that has the potential to make everyday life easier for people with disabilities. Installing lower-than-usual light switches and higher-than-usual electrical outlets, for example, is a fairly simple project that can make life a little easier for people in wheelchairs.

If the reader fears that universal design means a loss in aesthetic value, much in the way that one-size-fits-all clothing sometimes lacks visual appeal, the author writes that “universal design features blend seamlessly into home designs, drawing little attention to themselves, yet making the designs much better.” Included in the book are plenty of diagrams and color photographs for visual reference.

After implementing the recommendations offered in Universal Design for the Home to enhance a home’s visitability and beauty, any resident or guest will feel at home.

Publisher: Quarry Books
Publish date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN-10: 1592533817
ISBN-13: 978-1592533817

Book review: An Uncertain Inheritance

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:19:00 GMT

In An Uncertain Inheritance, the voices of many essayists converge to tell the story of how providing full-time care for a family member is a life-changing experience for everyone involved.

The essays, compiled by Nell Casey, range from adults confronting the realities of caring for their parents to children who are forced to forfeit their independence by returning to their parents for care.

Stories such as the one contributed by Helen Schulman uncover the heart-wrenching internal and external conflicts that can arise from a loved one’s illness. In “My Father the Garbage Head,” Schulman writes about her father, who endured a medley of illnesses and medical complications for 20 years before dying. Schulman chronicles the strain on her mother during those two decades, as well as her own weighty struggles.

Schulman says that about five years before her father died, because of her enduring love for him, she pledged to “help him as long as he needs it.” About this pledge, Schulman writes, “I remember the moment I said this to myself outside his hospital-room door. It was a promise I lived to regret.”

Anyone who is already caring for a family member or being cared for might be able to relate to some of the stories in An Uncertain Inheritance or glean some helpful information from them. And for those who are fortunate enough not to have dealt with long-term care, reading about the writers’ experiences will open the mind to any unforeseen scenarios that life has to offer.

Through a mixture of humor, sadness and unflinching honesty, the essays contained in An Uncertain Inheritance weave together a telling tale of the strength and sacrifice required when accepting responsibility for the care of a loved one.

Publisher: William Morrow
Publish date: Nov. 13, 2007
304 pages
ISBN-10: 0060875305
ISBN-13: 978-0060875305

Book review: The Art of Aging: A Doctor's Prescription for Well-Being

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:16:00 GMT

The notion of age taking people by surprise when they realize they are no longer able to engage in some activities is nothing new. Athletes are a prime example, but the fact remains that everyone faces the inevitable decline in abilities ushered in by the passing of time.

With The Art of Aging: A Doctor’s Prescription for Well-Being, author and doctor Sherwin B. Nuland proposes that by accepting coming changes and altering past expectations to fit current capabilities, people can have a quality of life in later years that is still immensely fulfilling.

Besides offering advice on how to soften the physical effects of aging, Nuland asserts that people can find rewards in life by keeping a steady group of quality friends and embracing opportunities to be creative. Nuland augments his suggestions for maintaining a zest for life by profiling well-known figures such as Michael DeBakey, a renowned cardiac surgeon who was still professionally active at the age of 98.

Readers of The Art of Aging might be pleasantly surprised to learn that age does not necessarily deserve such a negative connotation.

Publisher: Random House
Publish date: Feb. 27, 2007
302 pages
ISBN-10: 1400064775
ISBN-13: 978-1400064779

Book review: Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:42:00 GMT

Michael Paul Mason, author of Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath, spent years observing the effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) on people while working as a brain injury case manager. He even traveled to a hospital in Iraq, where he was surrounded by wounded patients from both sides of the war.

Mason’s often-futile attempts to obtain assistance for TBI survivors opened his eyes to the plight of this growing population of people, many of whom who are met with misunderstanding and neglect from society. His experiences also served as a fascinating resource from which to draw while writing Head Cases.

In the introduction to Head Cases, Mason presents several statistics to illustrate the number of people affected by TBI. One such statistic aptly puts the enormity of the situation into perspective: “In America alone, so many people become permanently disabled by a brain injury that each decade they could fill a city the size of Detroit. Seven of these cities are filled already.”

After making readers aware of the magnitude of the problem, Mason takes it down to a more personal level by delving into the case studies of 12 TBI patients – including how the injury has affected their families and friends. Among the patients are a snowboarder who experiences more than 120 seizures every month after a catastrophic crash and a former Air Force officer who believes he is dead as a result of encephalitis tinkering with his brain.

Even by focusing on only a dozen TBI cases, Mason makes it evident that the symptoms caused by brain injuries are myriad and not easily treated.

Through this journey into the lives of TBI survivors, Mason not only conveys the fragility and complexity of the human brain, he reveals that America is already far behind in the race to adequately treat those with TBI.

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publish date: April 8, 2008
320 pages
ISBN-10: 0374134529
ISBN-13: 978-0374134525

A Flower Grows in Stone: A Diary of a Life in Progress

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:08:00 GMT

In A Flower Grows in Stone: A Diary of a Life in Progress, first-time author Anisah Hassan weaves together diary entries from her past to compose a passionate and candid memoir about her experiences living with the rare neurological disorder Stiff-Person-Syndrome (SPS).

Diagnosed incorrectly with MS at the age of 22, it took Hassan years to get a correct diagnosis, during which she suffered from the muscle pain and emotional distress that accompany her condition. When she finally was diagnosed with SPS, she learned that she was one of only 300 individuals living with the disability in the U.S.

One of the most difficult parts of living with the rare disorder is the fact that many of its physical symptoms are triggered by emotional stimuli. For this reason, Hassan has had to discipline her feelings, a process which has inhibited her ability to express herself.

“The very nature of the condition is such that it prevents people from rendering a full and complete expression of the Self,” she writes. “In an instance of cheerfulness, I must be careful not to be too elated. Conversely, in times of sorrow, I cannot be too depressed.”

In addition to the debilitating symptoms of the disorder, Hassan has combated the ignorance of many of her friends and co-workers. Since her condition is so rare, many incorrectly believe it is just a figment of her emotion, which has caused Hassan to experience discrimination and prejudice in various settings.

In one poignant anecdote, she painstakingly describes an incident at her workplace in which she forgot her cane in a meeting room. When she returned to reclaim it, one of her co-workers proclaimed, “She doesn’t really need that cane, if she did she would never have left it.”

Although there are many incidents of pain, prejudice, and difficulty that Hassan relays in the book, her strongest writing comes through her expression of the power of spirituality to overcome adversity. While she bemoans the fact that SPS has depressed her extroverted nature, she believes that the “crisis” of her SPS has assisted her transformation to a more purposeful role in life.

“Sufferers have a unique perspective on life, in that we prioritize that which is truly meaningful, enduring,” she writes. “To endure a crisis with grace may be, to the masses easier said than done, but when one dwells daily within a body’s betrayal, one has to choose either to rise above the pain or allow it to engulf and consume every ounce of the physical Self.”

With these guiding principles in tow, A Flower Grows in Stone takes on a blithe, optimistic tone. And although SPS may have been the impetus for the book, its theme is more centered upon reflecting the joys, miseries, moments, and reveries that make up life than on the condition itself.

From her deep bonds with her sisters to a surprise reunion with her long-lost father, Hassan picks and chooses slices of her life that are genuine, warming, and capable of resonating with any reader seeking a book that exemplifies the power of the human spirit to overcome.

Book Review: Get Fit in Bed by Genie Tartell

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:12:00 GMT

One of the challenges of having a disability is staying fit. Most of the exercise videos and equipment on the market today and most exercise classes offered at fitness clubs are designed for people who have a normal range of motion, who have full mobility and who have at least a moderate level of fitness. Unfortunately, this makes these fitness items basically worthless if you don't fit within this mold.

Fortunately, however, there is a book written by Genie Tartell called Get Fit in Bed, which provides you with guidance and exercises that you can do in bed. This is a great exercise guide if you have mobility issues that prevent you from taking advantage of other exercise and fitness options.

Get Fit in Bed is an affordable exercise guide. It has a list price of $15.95 and can easily be found at your local library, bookstore or online bookstore. It contains 130 pages, weighs in at 9.6 ounces and has dimensions of 8.8 inches by 7 inches by .5 inches. These dimensions make the book easy to handle, even with arthritis or fine motor skill impairments.

Topics Covered
While not specifically designed for people with disabilities, it is a great bedside tool that you can use to get fit without having to worry about your physical limitations or about finding transportation to a gym. This book contains 42 exercises that incorporate moves, routines and workout philosophies from Pilates, general stretching programs, yoga and karate.

To make digesting this book easier to do it is broken up into three distinct sections. One section provides you with exercises that you can do while lying on your back, one section provides you with exercises that you can do while lying on your stomach and one section provides you with exercises that you can do while lying on your side. As you work your way through this book you can select exercises from each section, or you can focus on the section that works the best with your physical capabilities.

Consumer Reviews
Consumer reviews of this book are very positive. People with hip, knee and leg problems have posted that the exercises in the book are "easy to follow" even with their disabilities. In fact, the general perception of the exercises found in this book seems to be that they are easy to follow and that with consistency, they produce visible results that improve flexibility, strength and endurance. Another advantage touted by owners of this book is that the exercises help you to sleep better by helping you to reduce stress and to relax.

If you can't get to the gym, or if you simply prefer to exercise in the privacy of your own home, then this could be the book for you.

Stephen King's Main Character Copes with a New Disability

Fri, 30 May 2008 19:17:00 GMT

In his latest novel, Duma Key (Scribner 2008), Stephen King uses characters with disabilities to spin a tale of horror that is rooted in the body. The story is narrated retrospectively by Edgar Freemantle, a self-made construction tycoon in Minnesota who has recently suffered a job-site injury that fractured his skull and crushed his right hand, requiring amputation. When Freemantle leaves Minnesota for a rental property on Florida’s Duma Key—“Salmon Point, No. 13”—he discovers that his “old life” has ended and his “new life” as an aspiring artist with disabilities (one whose work channels a supernatural power) has begun.

As Freemantle convalesces in Minnesota, he struggles with loss of memory and of language, and he works toward integrating into his life the chronic pain of an artificial hip and the uncanny sensations of a phantom limb.

Freemantle recalls, “a thousand midnight bells ringing in my head, pain burning and stiffening my right side like a poker, my missing right arm itching, my missing right fingers twitching, no more Oxycontin due for awhile. . . .” King shows how the symptoms of Freemantle’s contrecoup injury affect behavior and how those changes in behavior can negatively affect even his closest relationships. Freemantle’s pain and frustration turn into anger, causing his wife to seek a divorce:

"I was angry all the time. . . . When I grew stronger, I tried to hit people. Twice I tried to stab [his wife] Pam, and on one of those occasions I succeeded, although only with a plastic knife. She still needed a couple of stitches in her forearm. There were times when I had to be tied down."

While King does not expect his audience to condone or excuse Freemantle’s violence, he expects them to understand it more clearly, to view them (but not Freemantle himself) sympathetically.

When Duma Key turns toward the gothic, King’s representations of Freemantle become problematically conventional. Freemantle’s periods of artistic “unbottling”—a first-time painter, he produces 30 extraordinary paintings in three months—are always announced by intense itching and tingling in his phantom limb. Moreover, the reader learns that Freemantle’s creative bursts are linked to the supernatural, for in several scenes Freemantle’s painting leads to what might be called miraculous ends. These representations reinforce antiquated assumptions that bodies with differences signify prodigiousness: Freemantle is not a painter with an impairment; he is a painter because of impairment.

A malevolent spirit named Perse uses Freemantle and his art to intrude into the world of the living and wreak havoc. When Freemantle speculates on why Perse has chosen him as a medium, he thinks, “She must have thought that when it came to mischief-making, the potential for a talented one-armed artist was great.” Unfortunately, King is relying on his readers to share Perse’s opinion that a “one-armed artist” would be easy prey precisely because of his disability and presumptively-unavoidable rage.

Finally, Freemantle is able to subdue Perse, yet the climax foregrounds his inability to perform some physical activities that this reviewer-with-an-upperex-amputation suspects many PWDs in Freemantle’s situation could perform with ease.

Duma Key does not altogether abandon more-realistic depictions. At his successful opening, Freemantle (labeled an “American Primitive”) is confused by the attention he receives from women at the gallery opening. He thinks, “The women…jeez. When my eyes met theirs, I caught a softening, a speculation, as if they were wondering how I might hold them with only one arm. That was probably crazy, but—.” Here, King provides a representation of a common anxiety in a mixed interaction: Is the gaze one of unmediated sexual desire or is it one that fetishizes bodily otherness?

Duma Key is a sophisticated King novel and a flat-out page turner, but King paints his PWDs with an uneven hand, unable to decide if they should be envied or pitied. Like his spirit Perse, he cannot let them be.

A Family Caregiver Speaks Up: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard

Tue, 27 May 2008 21:21:00 GMT

A compelling book that honestly acknowledges the struggles family caregivers face every day, Suzanne Geffen Mintz’s A Family Caregiver Speaks Up (2007) has been recognized as perhaps the best starting place for those new to this challenging role. However, this updated version of Love, Honor & Value (2002) by the president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) will also resonate with those who have been caregiving for years. The author describes a journey shared by she and her husband Steven that has been unpredictable, rewarding, scary, sad, funny, and above all, a personal triumph not only over extraordinarily difficult personal circumstances, but also those emotions so familiar to family caregivers, depression and despair.

Thirty-four years ago, Mintz’s husband Steven was diagnosed with MS, a disease in which progression and symptoms vary from person to person, making day-to-day life difficult to plan and the future impossible to foretell. For example, Mintz details her frustration when Steven needed a wheelchair much earlier than they’d expected. She also shares how pervasive her caretaker persona had become when during one terrible night when Steven was gone, a stranger broke into her house and raped her. Obviously traumatized by the rape itself, one of her first thoughts was nevertheless how much worse it could’ve been had Steven been home.

However, the aftermath of the rape resulted in a sense of violation felt by both of them, an emotion that served to separate them, rather than bind them together. They found it difficult to confide in each other, choosing to tiptoe around their issues, rather than face them head on together. A two-year separation ensued, ending only when the two of them finally realized that they were, as Mintz puts it, “quite right for each other.”

Like so many caregivers who find themselves supporting a loved one, Mintz has come to terms with her husband’s disability but still clearly acknowledges the challenges inherent in caregiving as a full-time job. What she found in those early years was that the opportunity to share with other caregivers – to compare notes and share solutions and advocate together – was just the sustaining source of strength she needed to deal with her new reality. That realization drove her to found the internationally recognized National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA), and subsequently to write this book.

According to A Family Caregiver Speaks Up, the NFCA was founded in 1993 with a mission “to empower family caregivers to act on behalf of themselves and their loved ones and remove barriers to health and wellbeing.” Essentially, the organization lets other caregivers know that it’s okay to ask questions and to cry and to ask for help.

Mintz’s book is, in fact, a culmination of those honest sentiments, offering advice based on her own experiences and those of others throughout the book. Separate chapters cover “The Common Bonds of Caregiving,” "It Doesn’t Have to be This Hard,” “Caregiving is About Love, Honor, Value—and You,” among other topics central to caregiving. Four appendices – healthcare, finances, public policy, and finding resources – conclude the book.

A Family Caregiver Speaks Up allows anyone in the role of family caregiver to find solidarity and support in the experiences of others. The NFCA has a vision of “an America in which family caregivers lead full and productive lives, free from depression, pain, isolation, and financial distress.” Indeed, with this book and the advocacy work Ms. Mintz has engaged in tirelessly through NFCA, she is well on her way to fulfilling that vision.

A Family Caregiver Speaks Up: It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard
Suzanne Geffen Mintz
Capital Books, Inc. (2007)
ISBN 978-1-933102-46-7

Read more
To read more about Suzanne Mintz, see Family Caregiver Suzanne Mintz Uses Life Experience to Advocate for Caregivers.

Briana Walker: Her SCI Doesn't Prevent Her From Dancing, Surfing and Writing Books

Wed, 21 May 2008 19:10:00 GMT

When Briana Walker joined Colours Wheelchairs as a model, she met Auti Angel, who was a wheelchair dancer and pioneer in the hip hop world. Auti opened the door for Briana to wheelchair dancing.

"Auti introduced me to wheelchair dancing and it's something I love to do. I'm very passionate about it. We perform together at Colours Wheelchairs trade shows. We demo the product together, provide entertainment and show what we can do in their wheelchair products. I also really like the little kids camps where we show kids with disabilities what they can do in a wheelchair," Briana explains. "That is our reward to see their faces light up and show them that anything is possible."

Briana's life changed with an accident on an Orange County, California, freeway in 2002 at the age of 23. When she fainted at the wheel of her black Honda Accord, she hit the cement median at 75 miles per hour. She had planned on marrying her boyfriend, but the accident took her life in a different direction.

"After I got hurt, it was too difficult for him to handle. It ended up being a blessing, because I need someone who won't run away from adversity, someone who will embrace challenge and say, 'Let's beat it together!' While it was heartbreaking at the time, it gave me so much motivation to move forward. We're still friends," Briana notes, "but everyone deals with situations differently and you have to accept that."

Since the accident, Briana has become an author of an uplifting book about her experiences, Dance Anyway. She also serves as an Ambassador to the Life Rolls On Foundation as she's working on a second book.

"My first book, Dance Anyway, is available on my website www.BrianaWalker.com. I wrote it to share my story and my message that life turns out best for those who make the best of the way life turns out. The second book Does This Wheelchair Make My Butt Look Big? is the book that I want people to see the humorous side of wheelchair life. I plan on releasing this book in 2009 and distributing it to the spinal cord rehabs in the USA so they can give it to the newly injured patients to help them develop a sense of humor in this new way of life."

"Laughter is the best medicine I believe. It definitely helped me get through some very trying times and the ability to laugh made it easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hospitals now give my book, Dance Anyway, to people who have recently sustained a spinal cord injury," Briana explains. "As an Ambassador with the Life Rolls On Foundation I go into hospitals and rehabs and talk to people with spinal cord injuries. It's so important who you first meet after an injury as it will determine the path you will take. What type of example will you receive? If you meet someone negative, it may have a negative impact. Life is going to be different after an injury, but you have a choice. You can look at the positive. I try to be positive and use my sense of humor."

As a spokesperson for Overstock.com, Briana does not sit in her wheelchair to sell the products in commercial appearances.

"They gave me a choice and asked me, 'Do you want to sit in your wheelchair or on the couch?' I told them, if I were at home, I'd be sitting on the couch," Briana says, "It's not a publicity stunt or anything like that. I'm promoting Overstock.com and it shouldn't matter whether I'm in a wheelchair or not. Artists with disabilities want to be accepted as normal. In my role with Overstock.com, it's just about being a person."

As Briana has been requested around the world to share her story in person, she carries a strong message.

"I speak primarily to able-bodied communities. My platform is focused on overcoming adversity. Attitude is everything and I incorporate the lessons I've learned in my own life into that theme. Life is about choices and it's your choice how you're going to react to it."

As speaking engagement requests have been growing by word-of-mouth, she's appeared for groups as far away as Germany. Briana receives positive responses to her appearances.

In life, she rarely experiences discrimination but admits it has to do with your own individual attitude and interpretation.

"The way I look at it, if someone is uncomfortable or they stare, I see it as an opportunity first hand to educate. It's how I react to a situation that determines the outcome. There's always a way to turn it into an educational experience that leads toward acceptance. I look back to when I got hurt. I didn't know anyone who used a wheelchair," Briana remembers. "As time progressed, I could turn this experience into anything I wanted it to be. Again, it was my choice to turn it around and share my message with more people."

To be able to continue dancing has been a gift. "I'm grateful to Auti. She's had such a positive influence on me. I never would have been exposed to hip hop dancing without her. We're a lot alike and yet different. She's outgoing and gregarious; we have a nice balance. We do fast beat and high energy dancing, but we enjoy attending other dance performances that include able body and wheelchair dancers alike to expose us to other forms of dancing. Some ideas we incorporate into our own dance routines."

Briana embraces an active life, which includes many of the sports she has always loved.

"I wakeboard and surf. I compete in triathlons. I skydive and bungee jump, everything I did before. I'm more motivated now to participate because I'm more curious about how I can do something. I love trying new things and challenge myself. I haven't won a triathlon," Briana says with a laugh, "but it's still a work in progress."

As an Ambassador for Life Rolls On, Briana also shares her love of sports with people who have spinal cord injuries.

"I teach them how to surf and I believe in the organization. We raise money for spinal injury research while we also motivate and create an awareness that life goes on after sustaining an injury," Briana adds, "Nothing can stop you if you believe it's possible."

For more information on Briana Walker visit http://www.brianawalker.com/, http://www.liferollson.org/, or http://youtube.com/watch?v=qo6dClyk_cQ&feature=related.

To watch Briana and Auti Angel dance, link to http://youtube.com/watch?v=D574RDGXUio.

Pictured: Wheelchair Hip Hop Dancers Auti Angel and Briana Walker

Dr. Dan Gottlieb Encourages Self Acceptance in His New Book

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:03:00 GMT

In a market overflowing with a variety of self-help gurus, Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening, a book by family therapist and quadriplegic Dr. Dan Gottlieb, promises to be different. “You have to love a self-help book that extols doing nothing,” Publishers Weekly wrote about the book, which was released in March 2008. “The truth is," says Gottlieb, "if we become comfortable with who we are rather than who we think we should be, then we will be less insecure.”

After receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees from Temple University, Gottlieb struck out into his own practice in 1969. Ten years later, he was involved in a near-fatal automobile accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Immediately following the accident, Gottlieb felt his body had betrayed him, but has now come to be deeply appreciative of its heroism instead.

“I care for my body like it is a fragile lover that I adore," Gottlieb says. “My body has served me nobly; it has worked very hard, way above and beyond.”

Advances in the medical field mean that Gottlieb is a member of the first generation with quadriplegia who will survive into their late 50s. So his 29 years living as a paraplegic have given Gottlieb time to come to terms with how his body changed and now functions. In fact, he says he’s learned not to think antagonistically about that body, despite his sometimes precarious health. True to form, in Learning from the Heart, Gottlieb manages to approach the issue without seeming like he’s looking for pity.

Instead Gottlieb favors short anecdotal chapters rich in wisdom, generously revealing and deeply personal, and resonating with universal truths. His distinctive voice and format are consistent throughout Learning from the Heart as they are through all of the media he uses to spread his messages.

Today, as a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the author of Letters to Sam (addressed to his autistic grandson), Gottlieb has become somewhat of an expert in self-acceptance. As a therapist, he frequently counsels people who believe that changing themselves or their circumstances is the key to happiness. Gottlieb disagrees.

In Learning from the Heart, Gottlieb strives to help others undermine the stressful modern day lifestyle that he believes is chipping away at happiness, fulfillment and a sense of well-being. In the same warm, compassionate and funny way he hosts Philadelphia’s WHYY-FM’s weekly public radio program, “Voices in the Family,” he delivers simple but effective advice on how to reclaim a sense of “being human.”

Gottlieb’s stories are consistently great—honest and moving. His words paint colorful pictures to accompany the lessons he teaches and the people he writes about come across as real and full.

In everything he does, Gottlieb’s simple, yet smart approach to life comes through: "We are not important as individuals,” he says. “And everything we say and do counts."

Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving and Listening was published in March 2008 by Sterling Publishing. The book is available in hardcover format and is 176 pages.

Writers with Disabilities Have The Best Seat in the House

Fri, 02 May 2008 23:33:00 GMT

Allen Rucker is best known for his long track record of writing for television. As his recent book, The Best Seat in the House: How I Woke Up One Tuesday and Was Paralyzed for Life, climbs in sales with its release in paperback, he is gaining attention for his own story.

A victim of Transverse Myelitis, Rucker was unexpectedly paralyzed from the waist down. "I was 51 at the time. I'm a writer. The obvious thing to do, while I was laying there with this weird disease, was write. I thought I'd better start writing this down. You roll with it, you learn to dance," Rucker explained. "Some people have said the purpose of this book is as a primer for the able-bodied community to see what it's like to be disabled, detailing this indignity or that complication. It's also very valuable for the newly disabled. It's a funny, sarcastic view of my paralysis."

Comedy often serves as a poignant approach toward education. Part of educating society is also being developed in Hollywood through specialized committees such as Writers With Disabilities (WWD), of which Rucker serves as committee Co-Chairman for the Writers Guild of America. "We've been putting together the great moments of feature films and television that involved disabilities. We'll clip together the wonderful performances and send that out to production companies and show the pieces that won awards. There's also the Media Access Awards which recognize people in the entertainment industry who accurately portray people with disabilities," Rucker said. "There's more participation and a new spirit in the disabled community."

Rucker's writing continues to receive notice. Last year, a documentary he wrote for PBS about Vietnam, called Two Days In October, won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a British Grierson Award.

Prior to publishing The Best Seat in the House, Rucker was also awarded the Writers Guild of America West Joan Young Award for career distinction as a writer with a disability.

Rucker's career has changed over the last decade. Returning to the industry after his paralysis was an interesting jaunt. "For the first two years after I was paralyzed, through personal and professional relationships, I was writing specials and documentaries. But, some people are not comfortable with disabilities while others think there are logistics problems. Sometimes you think there are four guys sitting around a room saying, 'Yeah, we could use a great writer. What about Rucker? No. He has that paralysis thing…' They go right by you. You don't know if those conversations are happening or not because the CIA isn´t recording them. I was already in my early 50s and Hollywood is an ageist business. It also depends on which social/professional clique you´re in. TV is an up and down game, of course, but I don't complain. I've been very lucky," Rucker explained. "David Chase who created The Sopranos asked me to write a book on the Sopranos which led to three books. They're tongue-in-cheek, but highly successful."

In fact, The Sopranos Family Cookbook, written by Rucker, was a New York Times No.1 bestseller. "Now, I collaborate on books and write for Ability Magazine. There's no TV work now, but you go where you're wanted and you don´t go where you're not wanted," Rucker noted. "I think the entertainment industry doesn't use disabled performers or disabled writers out of habit instead of hatred. Everyone is anxious in Hollywood and you turn to someone you know, someone on your own writing staff. People with disabilities are often barred from the front door in terms of employment and that hasn't changed."

Viewing the world honestly from both sides of disability, Rucker admits the topic of using disabled writers or disabled performers never came up in his circles. "No. I never once heard a conversation about not using someone who was disabled. But, this is Hollywood. Even if it´s the right project, they don´t go out of their way to find someone who is disabled," Rucker said. "For real change we need to use every tool at our disposal. Someone is becoming 50 years old every seven seconds. More people are getting older, more people are becoming disabled or dealing with someone who has a disability. We need to deal with those numbers and include them in representation. We also need to use new avenues to educate such as Ability and New Mobility magazines. Of course, there are leaders such as the Farrelly Brothers and Larry David as more disabled people are showing up in their films and series."

For performers with disabilities, Rucker believes the attention is moving in the right direction. "Making noise speeds up awareness. If there's a breakthrough show, it will help. Some people thought when there were two pilots featuring characters with disabilities, they would be picked up this season. But, they both were rejected. Of course, in this business, it can change overnight. If someone in charge says, 'That's so funny, let´s get that.' Look at The Sopranos. Some of those stars couldn't buy a job before that show. Some of the actors had made up their own group name 'Gangster Actors Guild.' They went from being unemployed to being household names. So, you never know in this business because it´s a curious thing. The right vehicle, the right time and executives will be positive about it," Rucker said. "There are wonderful films involving disabilities such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Waterdance, The Men starring Marlon Brando as a paralyzed war veteran in 1950, HBO's Warm Springs about FDR being paralyzed, Dr. Strangelove, and It´s a Wonderful Life, with Mr. Potter, who was an angry character and a complete stereotype."

One of the most incredible moments of seeing the disabled community come together occurred at the beginning of the writers´ strike. "The strike happened and it was actor Danny Murphy's idea to get together for a special strike to show our support for the writers. Disabled writers and disabled performers marched together in front of Warner Brothers Studios. There were a lot of cameras and newscasters who showed up and it gained a lot of attention because it was a new angle to the story. There were 20 or 30 people in wheelchairs and it was almost a celebration. We hadn't seen each other and it was like a picnic. It was an encouraging experience," Rucker said. "Maybe one writer and one performer may have come together that day and come up with a really great idea."

For information on Allen Rucker link to www.AllenRucker.com.

For more information on the Writers Guild of America Writers With Disabilities Committee visit www.wga.org.