WALKING PAPERS

Uplifting memoir by a young man determined to regain a full life after suffering a devastating spinal injury at age 24.

Clark, whose dive into the shallow end of a pool left him paralyzed from the neck down, is today, at age 30, running a thriving business whose profits are helping other victims of spinal-cord injuries. His story of recovery is full of grit, perseverance, resourcefulness and a lot of support from a loving family. Years of physical therapy followed the accident, often with therapists who seemed to be urging him to accept his fate and to learn to live with his limitations. The author, who refused to give up hope, tried acupressure, chiropractic and hypnotherapy; he researched innovative treatments, even going to China for stem-cell surgery and signing up for aggressive, inventive clinical trials. Gradually, he recovered feeling in some parts of his body, and he continues to hope for further improvements. Because the injury to his spinal cord cost him the ability to sweat, his skin began to have serious problems. To alleviate them, he turned to his father, a doctor familiar with alternative medicine, and together they experimented with dozens of botanical extracts. One of them, jasmine absolute, became the principal ingredient of a helpful cream, whose use soon spread to his father’s patients and to others. From this he got the idea of starting a company and developing a line of skin-care products. Before his injury, Clark had worked at Harper’s Bazaar, and his contacts in the fashion world helped him promote his new company, Clark Botanicals. As a paraplegic, he had long been an admirer of Christopher Reeve, and a portion of the profits from his firm supports the work of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization for which Clark serves as a national ambassador and fundraiser. The book contains vivid descriptions of what it feels like to be paralyzed and helpless and reveals the negative attitudes of some in health care toward patients with disabling injuries.

An encouraging, heartwarming story about the strength of the human spirit.