Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence

A veteran NPR commentator and popular correspondent on ABC-TV's Day One news program relates his experiences of danger and discrimination during to his world travels and confinement to a wheelchair.

In 1976, Hockenberry was left a paraplegic after an auto accident and has now spent half his life in a wheelchair, a "crip," as he puts it. After college, he worked for National Public Radio for 12 years and in 1993 joined TV's Day One as a reporter and commentator. His account of life as a handicapped American at home and abroad should interest all. A realist, he has long since recovered from any self-pity and chronicles the gamut of reactions he has encountered in his native land, ranging from averted heads to staring to moist eyes to the opinion-expressed not to him but to his relatives-that if he wanted to commit suicide, people would understand. He now feels closer to other minorities of "walled-in ethnic, racial and economic enclaves," sympathizing with their pain and their rage. He conveys as few other writers have the anomalous position of being the insider who is also an outsider. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Whether he was covering the tragically violent conflict in the Middle East or hosting his engaging arts program, Heat, Hockenberry was a strong presence on National Public Radio. The fact that he is a paraplegic has made his accomplishments all the more remarkable. What courage he had to travel to war-torn Beirut in a wheelchair: how did he manage? Hockenberry answers this question and many more less obvious ones in his searing, brilliantly told memoir, a riveting and unforgettable account of his struggle to be free within the confines of paralysis. At age 19, Hockenberry survived a car crash that severed his spinal cord. Not only did he have to acquire new physical skills, he also had to recast his orientation to the human race. As he relates one blunt, eye-popping anecdote after another--some hilarious, others full of fury--Hockenberry unmasks the fear and ignorance underlying discrimination against the disabled and explains how his disability became an impetus for achievement. Clearly, his aggressively intelligent and determined approach to this potentially overwhelming experience made Hockenberry, currently on ABC-TV's Day One newsmagazine, a superb reporter and political analyst. He is also a masterly writer. Donna Seaman

The former National Public Radio correspondent, currently seen on ABC's Day One, explains what it's like to report from such embattled outposts as Jerusalem, Baghdad, and New York City in a wheelchair.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.