In September 1955 six-year-old Mark O'Brien moved his arms and legs for the last time. He came out of a 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.
For the first time in paperback, How I Became a Human Being is 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 physical limitations, O'Brien crafts a narrative that is as rich and vivid as the life he led.
- NYT Best & Notable Since 2000 eBooks
- New eBook additions
- Invention, Innovation, and Inquisitiveness
- Read a Classic You Missed...
- Scifi Absolute Classics
- Contemporary Romantic Comedy
- If you like Danielle Steel, try these!
- If you like John Grisham
- Michael Connelly alike ebooks
- Fairy Tale, Myth, and The Hero's Journey
- Always Available Classics
- National Book Award Longlist ebooks
- And the Prize Goes to....
- See all ebooks collections
- NYT Best & Notable Since 2000 eAudio
- Full-cast recordings
- New Audiobook Additions
- Find and Listen to a Classic That You Missed...
- Get Your True Crime Fix
- Read by a Celeb
- Listen to a New Series
- If you like Danielle Steel, Try These!
- Michael Connelly alike audiobooks
- If you like Stephen King...
- Fantasy here!
- Audio available now
- Top Audiobook Narrators
- See all audiobooks collections
- Pride
- Celebrate Diverse Voices
- Sexual Assault Awareness
- Parenting
- Parenting Teens
- Managing Stress and Anxiety
- Sobriety
- We Can All Go Back to School
- See all featured collections collections