Ben Mattlin was bornn with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital weakness from which he was expected to die in childhood. Not only did the author get through childhood, he became one of the first students in a wheelchair to attend Harvard. Yet it was a time when discrimination against the disabled was still legal, and Mattlin couldn't find work. Aided by advancements in medicine, technology, and civil rights, Mattlin came to see how his life paralleled the growth of the disability rights movement. This memoir presents a unique perspective on disability.
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