[.ca] From Where I Sit: Making My Way with Cerebral Palsy (ISBN 059039584X)

Well-written, strong book:
Shelley's story is emotional without being maudlin, funny without being silly, and serious without being dry. What you get from this book is a picture of a unique person who has a bunch of characteristics, including, but not only, Cerebral Palsy. I read it to try to understand what my daughter will go through as she grows up with Cerebral Palsy. Shelley is a strong and talented woman and the book reflects that. I hope my daughter grows up as well!

Strong writing, a good introduction to CP:
As a woman with Cerebral Palsy myself, I was very interested in this book. I found it to be well-written, clear, and honest. It demonstrates maturity, and is a good treatment of many facets of life with a disability. In a previous review on this page, however, it was mistakenly assumed that Cerebral Palsy is a disease. Although this is more than understandable, I would like to point out that it is, rather, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain before, during, or after birth. Diseases are generally progressive, and many can be fatal. Although the mobility level of a child with CP often decreases with maturity (due to growth) CP is neither progressive nor fatal, and a full understanding of both the book and the disability is greatly helped by the knowledge of this.

Sad portrayal of life with cp, lacking positive outlook:
Based on the positive reviews I read here, I bought two copies, hoping to give one to a young girl with cp, struggling to cope. I was looking for a positive role model for her, someone with a hopeful outlook, who had developed as a person despite their disability. This book is not that. I will not give it to this girl, or give to other students to read. I found this book a very sad autobiography of a girl's life. It was mostly a chronological listing of her life's events. She only touched on the subject of her emotional struggle with cp, but she gives no advice to others in her shoes, leaving the reader to wonder if she herself has emotionally come to grips with her disability. Not a book of success despite adversity that would serve as a model for others in similar circumstances.

Quietly moving bio of a young woman:
Shelley Nixon was born with Cerebral Palsy. Many readers will expect an informative look at CP, along with an emotional description of dealing with a disability. Instead, we get a straightforward look at a young woman looking back on her childhood and adolescence. Shelley's CP is, of course, the catalyst for a lot of her life's events, but she refuses to devote her autobiography to her disability. Instead, she writes, with funny and honest prose, about childhood, friendships, family, crushes, and art - all things important to her. She doesn't shy away from descriptions about her physical limitations and numerous surgeries (and the emotional struggles of dealing with her disability), but she refuses to be defined by Cerebral Palsy, in both her book and her life. She may not be as introspective in "From Where I Sit" as you might like, but insight can be found in her poetry, particularly "A Tree For Me." Shelley Nixon may one day write a book about her disability, but first, she chose to write about herself. That alone is a strong statement about embracing one's own abilities.

Great book!:
I am a senior Rehab major at Indiana University of PA and I have had over 5 years of experience working with people with CP and other disabilities. I started off having to read this book for a class and loved it! I could not put it down!! This book is an excellent source for anyone who may or who already does work with people with CP. It would also be good for people with CP because it shows everything she had to overcome throughout her life and now she has written a book when many people said she couldn't!! It allows you to view her through her point of view without prejudice and discrimination. What Shelley writes about is everything i have seen with persons with quadriplegic CP. This is not a depressing book. It is inspirational and very eye opening.