A frank, humorous exploration of inter-abled dating, love, and marriageIn Sickness and Health is more than an "inspiring" story of how a man born with spinal muscular atrophy—a congenital and incurable neuromuscular disease—survived childhood, graduated from Harvard, married an able-bodied woman, built a family, and lived happily ever after. Author Ben Mattlin also issues a challenge to readers: Why should the idea of an "inter-abled" couple be regarded as either tragic or noble?Mattlin's wife recalls falling in love with his confidence and sheer determination. On one of their earliest dates, he persuaded her to ride on his lap in his wheelchair on their way home from an Elvis Costello concert. Thirty years later, they still travel like this from time to time, undaunted by the curious stares following them down the street.Through conversations with more than a dozen other couples of varying abilities, ethnic backgrounds, and orientations,...

RetailBen Mattlin lives a normal, independent life. Why is that interesting? Because Mattlin was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital weakness from which he was expected to die in childhood. Not only did Mattlin live through childhood, he became one of the first students in a wheelchair to attend Harvard, from which he graduated and became a professional writer. His advantage? Mattlin’s life happened to parallel the growth of the disability rights movement, so that in many ways he did not feel that he was disadvantaged at all, merely different. Miracle Boy Grows Up is a witty, unsentimental memoir that you won’t forget, told with engrossing intelligence and a unique perspective on living with a disability in the United States.