Customer Reviews

A House for Michael: The Extraordinary Story of How One Man's Dream for Self-Sufficiency on a Remote Ranch Became a Reality

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My brother became a paraplegic in his mid-40s, and my mother was thinking about how to best restructure their home to make it work for him. I ordered a few books for my parents to peruse, and this is the one my mother mentions repeatedly. I have not read it, but she said it was very helpful in how to think of space and how to increase independence, not just accessibility (for instance, it's not just can he get into the kitchen and reach things, but can he cook and clean up from an entire meal without assistance).

The writer of the book is apparently an architect who became a quadriplegic during midlife and wanted to retain as much independence as possible (including living on a fairly secluded ranch with limited help). The book apparently is not a story of his personal struggle to recover or accept or anything, it is, according to my mom, primarily a "how I designed my home and why" book. And because he is an architect, he can give fairly detailed accounts and reasoning for why he designed what he designed.

My mom wished there were more pictures (I don't know how many there were) to show what his home actually looked like, but she gained a lot of insight from whatever there were and from his detailed discussions.

Made a great gift, and would make a great gift, for anyone who is newly facing the issue of creating not just an accessible home but an independence-centered home.