Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Moving Violations : War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence by John Hockenberry ISBN: 0-7868-8162-3 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 11 July, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.93 (28 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: You keepon learning, after the last page.
Comment: Reflection on "Moving Violations" Ellie Widmer
Moving Violations, the memoir of John Hockenberry-- is a very moving story. It is frank and honest, inspiring and also surprisingly entertaining. Mr. Hockenberry uses a style that works well--he starts at the end, goes back to the beginning, and blends the story very nicely. He is a seasoned reporter; he sure knows how to keep his audience's attention! But it is not only his story that intrigues me. It is a pattern of human behavior that I have noticed before, in real life relationships as well as in autobiographies. At some juncture in the lives of a great number of people, the courage, the desire, maybe even the need for honesty appears and manifests itself in a variety of ways.
After major life events, be they catastrophes or spiritual enlightenment-or any number of other life changing experiences-to relate to readers or listeners the formerly hidden or "avoided " side of one's life, the mistakes if you will, the things one would ordinarily suppress is often a significant aspect of writings and speeches. In biographies in which family secrets, for instance, are aired in public, a reader can wonder if the subject is angry or embarrassed, or even if all the facts are accurate. But in biography, when a public figure reveals the sins of his or her youth, the transgressions against the formal law or the social norms, it is usually after a significant event in that person's life has occurred. Sometimes it may be when the writer is approaching or has reached old age; but more often it is something that literally wakes one up to a new sense of priorities, a new value system, a need to be as open honest with oneself, and consequently with everyone else. Self-disclosure can be freeing, healing and energizing.
But my interest in this whole issue is not just that it seems to happen, but rather why does it happen? Is it even a deliberate attempt at openness, or is it a natural instinct after a significant life experience? Is it a debt one owes to oneself to represent one's life as it really was, with the good the bad and the in between, rather that use the selective memory that sheds only positive light on the teller? Does traumatic or life jolting experience remind us so much of our finite condition, that we can no longer abide superficiality? Do we then care more about getting in touch with our true selves than what others may think of us? But most of all, is this a conscious thing? I think it may not be, but rather this behavior may be part of a growth process--a very positive one-- that many but not all people achieve in their lifetime. Could these phenomena be considered a sort of spiritual evolution in the context of a single life span? I would think there have been studies about this sort of thing. If so, I would like to know about them. I thank Mr. Hocenberry for his gift to all readers who pick up this book; it is a treasure.
Rating: 5
Summary: Kudos to Hockenberry from a Deafie!
Comment: Hockenberry doesn't really need more people to tell him how good his book is. However, he does need a person considered to have a disability (Deaf) to tell him--Great JOB! And to recommend to all those undergoing the process of learning to deal with a disability and grieving over loss of abilities, to read this book. It will help significantly. He learned in a shorter period of time, and had a significantly better outlook on his new disablement. He also brings up the fact that sometimes the obstacles placed in our way are of our own making. The Americans with Disabilities Act is not going to solve all of our problems...and as a country we are lucky to have it. But many of those problems won't be fixed until we the Deaf and the disabled get off our collective butts (excuse the pun) and do something about it. This means becoming active politically and otherwise. Mr. Hockenberry needs to write a followup since his career has gone in different routes now...and we see him more often on television. How has this newfound fame added or detracted from his life? I didn't always agree with him...I too have worked with mentally disabled adults, and sometimes found his attitude shocking, though I think he was merely very young at the time. But I am recommending this book to my students, to people I work with who are disabled, to my computer group (the SayWhatClub--we all say 'what') and anyone else I can think of. Ok Mr. Hockenberry, get busy writing the sequel! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh
Rating: 5
Summary: Really had an imact
Comment: I shared some of John Hockenberry's book with folks at an elderly home in Alphabet City, NYC. They enjoyed his writing as much as I did, and I'm sure many of them could relate to his experiences in a wheel chair. Hockenberry's words were inspirational to all of us.
 |
Title: Waist-High in the World : A Life Among the Nondisabled by Nancy Mairs ISBN: 0807070874 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 22 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot by John Callahan ISBN: 0679728244 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 14 April, 1990 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: Life on Wheels: For the Active Wheelchair User by Gary Karp ISBN: 1565922530 Publisher: Patient-Centered Guides Pub. Date: 15 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: No Pity : People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement by Joseph P. Shapiro ISBN: 0812924126 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 25 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: The New Disability History: American Perspectives (History of Disability) by Paul K. Longmore, Lauri Umansky ISBN: 0814785646 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: March, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
