Part 3: Selected bibliography#
References Categories#
While I tried to read as many relevant books as possible, I make no claim to having exhausted the literature. There are undoubtedly many fine books that I just plain missed. Others are omitted because they’re bad. I feel that the books commented upon below are of interest to at least some SCI’s. They are not all works of artistic or scientific splendor.
Books and periodicals relevant to SCI seem to fall roughly into four categories:
Medical, of interest to doctors and extremely dedicated technicality-buffs. One reason that doctors are well paid is that they had to wade through all this stuff. Ask your doctor for the information or for specific references.
Research reports, primarily produced by health professionals for health professionals. Usually dry stuff, dropping statistics like dandruff, but there are some nice surprises.
Information books, magazines and pamphlets written specifically for the disabled, often by the disabled. This category contains the biggest slug of useful information for a newly disabled person.
Books written by the disabled, or as told by the disabled, for the general public. Since these books are designed to sell, they tend to dwell on hardship and pain and their eventual overthrow by discipline, diligence, divinity or indomitable courage. They sometimes inspire the public and depress the disabled, but there are exceptions.
An A, B, C or D following the title indicates the category into which it most readily falls.
Accent on Living, Buyer’s Guide (C), Cheever Publications, Bloomington, Illinois, 1977. Revised annually. If you know what you want but don’t know where to find it, this booklet may help. On the other hand, you may resent paying for a book which is over 50% advertising.
Baxter, Robert T., Salvaging Our Sexuality (C), Medical Media Visuals, East Orange, New Jersey, 1979. An excellent little book by a quad. Honest, unpretentious, not too clinical, admirably protective of women’s sensibilities and realistic throughout. A fine contribution.
Bowe, Frank, Handicapping America (C), Harper & Row, 1978. A well-informed cry of outrage; sweeping ideals of slow change, but few ready solutions. Overlaps into categories (B) and (D).
Bregman, Sue, Sexuality and the Spinal Cord Injured Woman (C), California State Department of Rehabilitation, Inglewood District, 1975. A helpful and simple booklet from a woman’s point of view.
Brickner, Richard P., My Second Twenty Years (D), Basic Books, New York, 1976. An excellent writer chronicles his twenty years as a quadriparetic. Sometimes humorless, often obsessed with his re-entry to the sexual arena, this is an intelligent book which makes thumping contact frequently.
Bruck, Lilly, Access: The Guide to a Better Life for Disabled Americans (C), Random House, New York, 1978. The finest compendium of hints and facts that I have found. Well organized, lively and full of heart. This is a fine reference book for all aspects of disability.
Cheever Publishing, Accent on Living (C). Quarterly magazine, perhaps the best periodical review of new ideas, equipment, legislation and developments of interest to all disabilities. Slick it’s not. Accent also runs a computerized information retrieval system called Accent on Information and has published several booklets of varying worth on various aspects of disability.
Cheever, Raymond, C., Bowel Management Programs (C), Accent Press, Bloomington, Illinois, 1975. A down-to-earth how-to-do-it book.
Cheever, Raymond C., Home Operated Business Opportunities for the Disabled (C), Accent Press, Bloomington, Illinois, 1977. How to make pauper’s wages at boring jobs. Perhaps of interest to those who want part-time work or need to stay under Social Security Gainful Employment maximums.
Crase, Clifford and Nancy, Sports ’n Spokes (C), bimonthly magazine dedicated exclusively to wheelchair sports.
Crewe, Nancy M., et. al., Employment After Spinal Cord Injury: A Handbook for Counselors (B), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1978. Not just for the pro’s. The first section is an excellent synthesis of employment problems and solutions, the second consists of 79 short biographies of working wheelers, with an emphasis on quads, and the last is an index of professions suitable for the severely disabled.
Dickey, Imogene, Recipes and Cooking Hints for Brides and Other Handicapped People (C), Imogene Dickey, 950 N. Carrington, Buffalo, Wyoming, 1978. Down-home cooking made easy for anyone. This friendly book by a quad (see Imogene Dickey) is just what the title says it is.
Eareckson, Joni, Joni (D), Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976. A squeaky-clean, widely-read autobiography of a young quadriplegic woman who learned to have a terrible time and praise the Lord. Of genuine interest to Christian witness devotees.
Epstein, June, Mermaid on Wheels (D), Ure Smith Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1967. The story of an Australian paraplegic woman’s accomplishments, this book will inspire only those whose most fervent desire is to become a housewife and mother.
Fallon, Bernadette, So You’re Paralyzed… (C), Spinal Injuries Association. London, 1975. A British woman has written a no-nonsense book of information on SCI and how to cope with it. This may be the best survey course in paralysis yet written for new injuries. Not bad for TAB’s, either.
Gregory, Martha Feguson. Sexual Adjustment: A Guide for the Spinal Cord Injured (C), Accent Press, Bloomington, Illinois, 1974. Pretty good, but a little obsolete. If you’ve read Trieschmann, you’ll have trouble believing some of this.
Goldenson, Robert M., et. al., Disability and Rehabilitation Handbook (B), McGraw-Hill, 1978. An encyclopedia. If you’re becoming a counselor, therapist, social worker or an activist, read it. Otherwise…
Gollay, Elinor and Bennett, Alwina, The College Guide for Students with Disabilities (C), Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1976. Another encyclopedia, this one detailing accessibility, number of disabled students, policies, services, programs and community resources at hundreds of colleges and universities. Excellent if kept updated.
Hermann, Anne Marie C., and Walker, Lucinda A., Handbook of Employment Rights of the Handicapped: Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (C), Regional Rehabilitation Research Institute on Attitudinal, Legal, and Leisure Barriers, Washington DC, 1978. The most comprehensive book extant on employment rights.
Laurie, Gini, Housing and Home Services for the Disabled (C), Harper & Row, Hagerstown, MD. Everything you need to know about architectural adaptation, attendant care, residential options and government-assisted projects. Aimed primarily at the health delivery services.
Marx, Joseph Lawrence, Keep Trying (C), Harper & Row, 1974. The title notwithstanding, this is a pretty warm comment on dealing with disability by a polio victim. Much good advice, and occasional good humor. You’d have to call it a nice book.
Mooney, Thomas O., et. al., Sexual Options for Paraplegics and Quadriplegics (C), Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1975. A pretty good little how-to-do-it book, illustrated, which will be helpful to many and sexually sobering to some.
Nasaw, Johnathan Lewis, Easy Walking (D), Lippincott Company, 1975. Far and away the best of all books by a paraplegic. It’s a little self-pitying at times, but consistently brilliant. Wait a year after injury to read this one; it won’t make you feel lucky, but it will give expression to a lot of your frustrations. Quads will think this guy isn’t hurt badly enough to take seriously. Stay with it for sure until you meet Cripple Willie. He is us.
National Paraplegia Foundation, Employment Opportunities for the Spinal Cord Injured Person (C), NPF, 1977. Good, but don’t accept its list of occupations suitable for the motivated wheeler. It doesn’t touch the real possibilities.
National Paraplegia Foundation, How to Get Help if You Are Paralyzed (C), NPF, rev. 1975. An excellent primer dealing with money sources, access to information, and how to tell if you’re getting good care.
National Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, National Resource Directory, 1979 (C), NSCIF, 1979. A superb gathering of practical information, much of it digested from other sources, but presented in an extremely useful format.
Paralyzed Veterans of America, Paraplegia News (C), a monthly organ of the PVA with information of interest to vets and non-vets alike.
Robinault, Isabel P., Sex, Society and the Disabled (B), Harper & Row, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1978. An exhaustive book, and exhausting. It’s quite good, done with a fairly light touch, and may intrigue inquisitive readers. Mainly for professionals. For a quicker read, try Accent’s Sexual Adjustment: A Guide for the SCId.
Roger, Michael A., Paraplegia (C), Faber and Faber, Boston, 1978. A hardcore how-to-do-it from a Terribly British Tetraplegic. Practical advice for keeping a damaged body healthy. Humorless and helpful.
Segal, Patrick, L’Homme Qui Marchait dans sa Téte (D), Flammerion, France, 1977. Another intelligent book, now available in English. A paraplegic photojournalist travels the world. Full of pride and life and love.
Strebel, Miriam Bower, Adaptations and Techniques for the Disabled Homemaker (C), Sister Kenny Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1973. Probably the best of the breed. Real solutions, well illustrated.
Trieschmann, Roberta B., Psychological, Social, and Vocational Adjustment in Spinal Cord Injury: A Strategy for Future Research (B), Easter Seal Society, Los Angeles, California, 1978. A monumental review of over 350 books, articles and research projects relating to SCI which delivers the newest and best state-of-the-art condensation in print. Trieschmann is a concerned, impartial, thorough and aggressive researcher who pokes holes in a lot of sacred cows. An important book for those who want a scholarly digest of what SCI has meant for large numbers of people studied under many disciplines. Caveat: the Behaviorist paradigm predominates. Excellent.
Valens, E.G., The Other Side of the Mountain (former title, A Long Way Up) (D), Warner Books, Inc., New York, 1975. The classic story of Jill Kinmont, ski racer turned quad and teacher and survivor. A great nostalgia piece for elderly ex-skiers like me, but understandably dated.
Weiss, Louise, Access to the World: A Travel Guide for the Handicapped (C), Chatham Square Press, 1977. A knowledgeable collection of hints and haunts for the handicapped, with emphasis on the wheelchair user. How to deal with planes, trains, buses, cars, hotels, tours, agents and your health. Plus destination and accessibility guides. Good.
Acknowledgment#
OPTIONS: Spinal Cord Injury and the Future was funded in its entirety through the generosity of
- SWISS REINSURANCE AMERICA CORPORATION
NEW YORK, NY