Flying Without Wings: Personal Reflections on Loss, Disability and Healing

by Arnold Beisser

Book Overview

"Give yourself a gift and read Flying Without Wings. You will be kinder, wiser, and more compassionate for having read it. I am."--Abigail ( Dear Abby ) Van Buren At twenty-four, Arnold Beisser was a recent medical school graduate and a nationally ranked tennis player. But overnight a devastating bout of polio left him permanently paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on an iron lung to draw his next breath. Polio robbed Arnold Beisser of his...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055334868X
• ISBN13: 9780553348682
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: Bantam Dell
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Finding Peace in Loss

When we lose just a part of our physical or mental being, we can suddenly feel that somehow we are not really ourselves anymore. Dr. Beisser had lost almost his whole physical self, but he shows us so eloquently how to overcome loss by changing his "point of view" both literally and mentally. I have gven a copy of this book to more than one person that I felt by their reading it, it could be of service in some way. I think anyone can benefit form this book, disabled or not and I highly recommend it!!

Flying Without Wings

This is an excellent true story. I think it would be very good for people in the medical and/or caregiving professions to read. Dr. Beisser is very inspirational in his journey to overcome his disability. The concepts in the book that were important to me are those feelings and experiences he relays about being dependent on physical care from nurses and doctors. Specifically, I learned alot from what he said he felt like when they cared for him grudgingly or with indifference; and also how he was affected when they simply would not listen to him. I have taken these words into my life and I always try to remember them when I am caring for someone who is dependent on me. Another important concept is the persistence he embodied. He simply never gave up, even when everybody was telling him to 'throw in the towel'. He did accomplish exactly what he set out to do, despite his obstacles. And finally, the concept of gratitude was BIG in this book. He was grateful even for his disability in the end. As amazing as this sounds, it is a pure and simple truth that we all must be grateful for absolutely everything that happens to us. Dr. Beisser shows the reader this lesson in a big way at the end of the book when he talks about his total acceptance of his circumstances and all the personal growth he has attained from those circumstances.

Excellent

I'm 25 hispanic female that recently read this book. I just became fascinated for the optimistic attitude and spirit of life that this book has. No words to describe what has done in my life

Superb, life-affirming memoir about life with a disability!

Arnold Beisser grew up with two life goals: To be a doctor and to be a national tennis champion. At 23, he achieved his first goal; at 24, his second. The year was 1950. Soon after his tennis victory, en route to basic training that would have brought him to Korea as an army doctor, he developed a high fever and was brought to a military hospital. Within 24 hours, he was paralyzed from the neck down. As Beisser puts it, one moment he was a doctor; suddenly he was a patient, requiring an iron lung to breathe. He had contracted polio. This outstanding book examines the funny, sad and philosophical aspects of life with a disability and its social consequences. Particularly fascinating are Beisser's stories of the stigma many people attach to disability. His courtship and marriage, as well as his career as a psychiatrist treating professional athletes, make for compelling reading. Anyone who has struggled in life - because of disability or any other tribulation - will be permanently enriched by this unforgettable memoir.