The Unlikely Celebrity: Bill Sackter's Triumph Over Disability - Tapa dura

"Bill Sackter's life is the story of one man' s fight for self-determination and dignity. Bill was a community hero, someone who symbolizes what is good and right about where we live and helps us understand what community means. To this end, Bill' s is not a story of disability, but a story of dignity. Tom Walz gives voice to Bill Sackter and makes readers wish that they could have experienced the sense of community that Bill gave as a gift to those around him."-- Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D., Director, The Arc' s SeIf-Determination Program, The Arc of the United States "Bill Sackter's life is the story of one man's fight for self-determination and dignity. Bill was a community hero, someone who symbolizes what is good and right about where we live and helps us understand what community means. To this end, Bill's is not a story of disability, but a story of dignity. Tom Walz gives voice to Bill Sackter and makes readers wish that they could have experienced the sense of community that Bill gave as a gift to those around him."--MichaelWehmeyer, Ph.D., Director, The Arc's SeIf-Determination Program, The Arc of the United States "Bill Sackter's life is the story of one man s fight for self-determination and dignity. Bill was a community hero, someone who symbolizes what is good and right about where we live and helps us understand what community means. To this end, Bill s is not a story of disability, but a story of dignity. Tom Walz gives voice to Bill Sackter and makes readers wish that they could have experienced the sense of community that Bill gave as a gift to those around him."Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D., Director, The Arc s SeIf-Determination Program, The Arc of the United States" "With warmth and wit and engaging stylewith respect for all the players in this sagaOld Tom [Bill Sackter s respectful appellation for Thomas Walz] takes us to a place where the air is clear. There, looking back, we see now that in our search to know Bill we were really looking for ourselves. His struggle was our struggle: that we might be good, too. What a happy, boundless idea."Barry Morrow, from the Foreword" "With warmth and wit and engaging style--with respect for all the players in this saga--Old Tom [Bill Sackter's respectful appellation for Thomas Walz] takes us to a place where the air is clear. There, looking back, we see now that in our search to know Bill we were really looking for ourselves. His struggle was our struggle: that we might be good, too. What a happy, boundless idea."--Barry Morrow, from the Foreword "With warmth and wit and engaging style--with respect for all the players in this saga--Old Tom [Bill Sackter's respectful appellation for Thomas Walz] takes us to a place where the air is clear. There, looking back, we see now that in our search to know Bill we were really looking for ourselves. His struggle was our struggle: that we might be good, too. What a happy, boundless idea."--Barry Morrow, from the Foreword "With warmth and wit and engaging style-- with respect for all the players in this saga-- Old Tom [Bill Sackter' s respectful appellation for Thomas Walz] takes us to a place where the air is clear. There, looking back, we see now that in our search to know Bill we were really looking for ourselves. His struggle was our struggle: that we might be good, too. What a happy, boundless idea."-- Barry Morrow, from the Foreword

The story of Bill Sackter, a man who spent nearly 50 years in a mental institution and emerged to blossom into an unlikely celebrity. Walz provides an account of Sackter's life, exploring how he was committed at the age of seven, later becoming Handicapped Person of the Year when in his 70s.