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How I Became a Human Being: A Disabled Man's Quest for Independence (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography) Paperback – April 17, 2003

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Mark O'Brien (Author)
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4.8 out of 5 stars 22 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography
  • Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (October 30, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 029918434X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0299184346
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsCompelling Story
By J.E. on December 9, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
While a recent film (The Sessions) and documentary (Breathing Lessons) have been made, this autobiographical story, authored by Mark O'Brien, is the one that grabs you and doesn't let go. Despite his severe handicaps, Mr. O'Brien goes to college (UC Berkeley!) and becomes a journalist, writer and poet. The book goes into detail about his experiences growing up, his transition to a nursing home (a nightmare), college, and beyond. We all cope with challenges in our lives. But the challenges this man copes with and overcomes, leave you reeling and evaluating life.
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5.0 out of 5 starsDisabled poet does not beg for sympathy
By Lucille on April 25, 2003
Format: Hardcover
September 1955. Six-year-old Mark O'Brien moved his arms and legs for the last time. He came out of a thirty-day coma to find himself enclosed from the neck down in an iron lung, the machine in which he would live for much of the rest of his life.
How I Became a Human Being is Mark O'Brien's account of his struggles to lead an independent life despite a lifelong disability. In 1955, he contracted polio and became permanently paralyzed from the neck down. O'Brien describes growing up without the use of his limbs, his adolescence struggling with physical rehabilitation and suffering the bureaucracy of hospitals and institutions, and his adult life as an independent student and writer. Despite his weak physical state, O'Brien attended graduate school, explored his sexuality, fell in love, published poetry, and worked as a journalist. A determined writer, O'Brien used a mouthstick to type each word.
O'Brien's story does not beg for sympathy. It is rather a day-to-day account of his reality?the life he crafted and maintained with a good mind, hired attendants, decent legislation for disabled people in California, and support from the University of California at Berkeley. He describes the ways in which a paralyzed person takes care of the body, mind, and heart. What mattered most was his writing, the people he loved, his belief in God, and his belief in himself.
Mark O'Brien was the subject of the 1997 Academy Award?winning documentary Breathing Lessons. He was a published poet and cofounder of the Lemonade Factory, a California press that published poetry by people with disabilities. O'Brien died in 1999 at the age of forty-nine after completing a draft of How I Became a Human Being . Gillian Kendall is a writer. She has contributed to both Outright Radio and Sun magazine; one of her short stories appeared in The Student Body, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
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5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful book, makes you appreciate your own life
By Lori Lipkes on November 24, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Great book. I saw the movie The Sessions, which only covers a short period of Mark's life. This book gives you details of his youth and his college experience at UC Berkeley.
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5.0 out of 5 starsHow I Became a Human Being
By Mickey Jackson on January 20, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
After seeing the movie, "The Sessions," I was interested in learning more about Mark O'Brien. I was extemely moved by the book and have shared it with several friends.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThis book is a great read
By DeAnza on May 21, 2003
Format: Hardcover
"How I became a human being" is a great read. It is one of those books that I had trouble putting down, once I had begun reading it. Mark O'Brien is a truely inspirational person, who proves that if you set your mind to something, you can achieve whatever you want to in life despite, in his case, extraordinary obstacles. I simply can't imagine being paralysed from the neck down. What amazed me while reading the book, was that at times, I forgot that Mark had such a profound disabilty, with his humour, personality and love coming through in his writing.
My only criticism of this book is that there was no mention at any point of Mark's realization that he would never walk again, that he would forever be reliant on others and indeed be reliant on an iron lung. When was he first told he would never walk again? How did he and his parents react to this news? Did he live in hope that by some miracle, he would walk again or did he accept that this was the way he was going to be for the rest of his life? After finishing the book, I felt that these questions were left largely unanswered.
Also, as Mark O'Brien died in 1999, I felt that it would have been good for the co-writer to have written an epilogue regarding the circumstances of his death. Throughout the book Mark comes close to death on several occasions and he talks about death in quite some detail, but the reader is left with no details of the actual circumstances in which he died.
Despite these criticisms, I recommend this book highly. It is an amazingly inspirational read.
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5.0 out of 5 starstrue story of a disabled man with a will and desire to expand his horizons.
By Dave M on March 20, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
well written, and enjoyable reading. Shows the human emotions and feelongs of a man trapped in his own body seeking love sex and "humanness,"
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5.0 out of 5 starsO'brien's love poem to Cheryl in the movie
By Stephen D. Murray on December 13, 2012
Format: Paperback
Good day, does anyone know how to obtain the beautiful poem that Mark O'Brien wrote to Cheryl in the movie?
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4.0 out of 5 starsGreat Read
By Tiarra Baskerville on December 8, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book was very interesting. A great read. His story is simply amazing. Well-written and so easy to get through.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsLife changing book.

This book is amazing. The author has an outstanding ability to share ( in a non-judgmental and forgiving way) about his life and the others around him as they dealt with the... Read more

Published 15 months ago by John C.
5.0 out of 5 starsexcellant memoir of a polio survivor

He had the help of a professional writer but it contains all O'Brien's story including his thoughts and feelings about being in an iron lung and going to school. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Mary Beth Smith
5.0 out of 5 starsA powerful read!

Beautiful piece of nonfiction work filled with struggle , hope and resiliency. It is inspirational for others reaching out for self-actualization!

Published on January 23, 2014 by Lori A. Manilla
5.0 out of 5 starsGo Mark O'Brien!

A great gutsy book, laughed and cried most of the through it, his courage and spirit is a lesson to all! This book should be on the school curriculum! Read more

Published on November 13, 2013 by Fran Wainwright
5.0 out of 5 starsHow I became a human being

Very fast and excellent service. I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend this seller to anyone. Thanks a bunch.

Published on September 5, 2013 by Althea Goff
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing and powerful

Beautiful, masterfully written book about the human spirit. Mark O'Brien's poetry is highlighted throughout. Read more

Published on July 5, 2013 by Melly M
5.0 out of 5 starsInspiring, brave story

The book the excellent movie `The Sessions' is loosely based on. It is an account of an American boy, aged six, stricken by polio and rendered so disabled he has to spend much of... Read more

Published on June 16, 2013 by pedal roy
5.0 out of 5 starsHEARTBREAKINGLY BOLD AND INSPIRING

I recently saw the movie THE SESSIONS and was eager to learn more about Mark O'Brien and his quest to experience life to its fullest. Read more

Published on May 30, 2013 by Jack E. Levic
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant book

What a lifeforce this man has. such courage and determination. Absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to everyone.

Published on May 5, 2013 by Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsWhat an inspiration

I bought this after watching "The Sessions" and his life inspired me even more. To have endured such pain and limited use of his body and yet want to partake of as much of... Read more

Published on April 17, 2013 by Mary L. Bittner

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