Rating: 
Summary: A brutally honest critique of rehabilitation
Review: (I'm really writing because I'm trying to contact John Callahan to see if he would be interested in and available to be a key note speaker at the November 1999 Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association's Annual conference in Nashville)..please let me know how I can contact Mr. Callahan or his agent. Thanks...I would be happy to write a review at another time. I am an associate professor of occupational therapy at Belmont University and often review text books for publishing companies...Mr. Callahan is one of my favorite authors.
Rating: 
Summary: An authentic portrayal of quadriplegia
Review: As a qudriplegic and a writer, I confirm John Calahan's portrayal of life with paralysis as authentic and exposing.
He tackles the tough subjects---sex, bodily functions, and relationships---with absorbing detail and discussion.
His humor never needles the reader. In fact, it becomes an expected feature of the book and endures us to Calahan even more.
Perhaps most exhaustive is Calahan's struggle with alcoholism. It is his personal delimma, but it can ask a lot from a reader with other purposes.
Still, it is a explorative look at the tragedy of paralysis and one person's survival.
Wade Stinson
Rating:
Summary: For Recovering Alcoholics
Review: Callahan is a recovering alcoholic with quite a story to tell. He violates a few of the rules of 12 step programs by going public with his A.A. affiliation but his story is really great. He makes fun of all people and makes you like it.
Rating:
Summary: For Recovering Alcoholics
Review: Callahan is a recovering alcoholic with quite a story to tell. He violates a few of the rules of 12 step programs by going public with his A.A. affiliation but his story is really great. He makes fun of all people and makes you like it.
Rating:
Summary: Callahan is a Needed Anti-PC Advocate
Review: Callahan is simply incredible. Never before could such a man who so obviously has so many faults be considered a hero. At my high school, Callahan has become a cult hero on level with South Park. But Callahan's story is more than his sick and demented humor. He overcame a lot to just be himself. This isn't a self-help book nor is it a typical autobiography of a noted comedian. Callahan is something special. He overcame adversity so deep and so self-inflicted that at times it seems like John himself is the only one who could overcome it. In this book, he shows his glaring weaknesses and for it endears himself to his readers. This book is not only Callahan's finest, but it is also a triumph of humanity. Callahan proves over and over again through the book that sometimes the best thing you can do is forgive him for being himself. Just like you need to forgive everyone for being themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Very Compelling
Review: I didn't pick this up strictly to read the autobiography of a quadriplegic, or to read a journal of a man's struggle with alcoholism. Rather, I was interested in the the life story of a man who has produced some of the most raw, funny, and disturbing cartoons I've ever seen. I ended up with all three.The stories are very compelling; beginning with the car accident that left Callahan crippled and moving back (to his upbringing in an adoptive Irish Catholic family in Oregon) and forth (to his search for his biological mother), with keen insights along the way (such as the irony of how our welfare system discourages the handicapped from trying to become productive members of society -- with specific examples) and ending with a day-in-the-life snapshot. All throughout, we are treated to Callahan's illustrations and cartoons. The narrative is every bit as raw as his cartoons. He doesn't sugar coat his alcoholism; nor does he shirk from talking about his relationship with The Big G as he tried to kick the bottle (uh... figuratively speaking, of course). He describes unflinchingly the bad things he'd done as well as the good; there is no sense of self-pity or holier-than-thou coming through. This is one of the few books I've picked up lately that demanded my full attention. John Callahan emerges from this book as a very interesting man; a flawed hero worthy of our attention. I highly recommend it, and I'll be reading his follow up (Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up?) next.
Rating:
Summary: I am now a fan.
Review: I was thoroughly impressed with this book, but even more so, I was impressed with John. At the beginning of the book he came across as hostile and belligerant, but I soon realized that traits that we might otherwise assume are negative helped him to not only recover, but to flourish. I appreciate John's candidness and his willingness to share his inspiring story with others. Thanks, John.
Rating:
Summary: A funny and touching autobiography
Review: It's amazing how nasty, insightful and funny are Callahan's cartoons. In this book he relates the incidents that turned him into an alcoholic quadriplegic -and into one of the least PC humorists alive. The book is very honest. Callahan don't put the blame of his miseries on external factors (unless when it comes to burocracy, and how the system penalize those who try make a living by working). He takes full responsibility of his mistakes and actions. The book is extremely well written and easy to read. Callahan presents us his childhood, his drinking days and his insecurities in love as a teenager, the stupid accident, how he had to learn to live as quadriplegic, even more drinking years, his decision to take control of his life, the experience at AA, the search for his real mother, the ideas behind his cartoons and the reactions received, the frustration with welfare, and -of course- several of his cartoons. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: funny as hell
Review: it's brutally honest, funny as hell. i never thought his cartoons were very funny, but this book is one of the funniest i've ever read. it's definitely got sections that some prissy types might find "offensive" etc, but if you can handle, say, R-rated cable TV, you should be ok.
Rating:
Summary: funny as hell
Review: it's brutally honest, funny as hell. i never thought his cartoons were very funny, but this book is one of the funniest i've ever read. it's definitely got sections that some prissy types might find "offensive" etc, but if you can handle, say, R-rated cable TV, you should be ok.
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