Walking In My Sleep

In this vivid, intelligent, often comical memoir of finding his way in the world as a boy and young man with Cerebral Palsy, Michael Cooney, founder and president of Exceptional Ability Entertainment, describes his journey to adulthood, and from one coast to the other, as a series of adventures in which he’s sometimes the hero, sometimes the loser, and sometimes a little in between. With a powerful voice and a highly accomplished, gripping style of storytelling, he takes the reader on a voyage involving guitars, radio, rock and roll, love, therapy, surgeries, school, falling, climbing the Statue of Liberty on his hands and knees, learning to tie his shoes at the age of twelve, falling some more, wheeling solo in a wheelchair in city traffic, getting busted by the United States government, almost going to prison, and much more. Along the way are shiny moments of joy, and portraits of the many people who helped him, even when he didn’t want them to. Everyone who has ever felt like an outsider, or “an alien,” as Michael thought of himself as a child, will find a rare kinship in these pages, as well as the warmth, wit, and excellent company of a fellow traveler.