Waist-High in the World

Graceful yet gritty paradoxes drive this extraordinary book, which uses the author's degenerative disease, multiple sclerosis, as a window into a very particular soul. . . . Let the reader understand: this is not a book about MS, or about illness; rather, it's a chronicle of inspired adaptation, spiritual as well as physical, to limits. The aim is the creation of joy. -Sallie Bingham, The New Mexican <br><br> Woe is not her, as she makes clear throughout this absorbing, laceratingly honest book. . . . This social construction of disability . . . is what Mairs most wants us to 'get' in this passionate, penetrating book-and then get over. -Marian Sandmeier, The Washington Post Book World <br><br> Vintage Mairs: sharply observed, deeply personal and always direct. -Michael Haederle, Los Angeles Times <br><br> As helpful as Mairs's book will be to disabled people, what's most important about it is its lessons for able-bodied readers. -Kathi Wolfe, The Progressive <br><br> Rich, startling and utterly absorbing. - Kirkus Reviews, starred review<br><br> Mairs's physical view of the world may be waist-high, but her intellectual and spiritual range is limitless. -Donna Seaman, Booklist, starred review<br><br> 'One sharp instrument is left me: my tongue.' This [Mairs] wields like a finely crafted baton, leading her readers to an ever deeper understanding of the human condition. -Yvonne Duffy, Detroit Free Press