The Many Sides of Broken Just click the links to read the commentaries I’ve written. I’ve also included excerpts of oral histories collected over the last few years. The text is limited to be representative of different aspects of the SCI experience. New interviews will appear as I complete their stories. And I may enhance the pages of previously introduced individuals. Check back if you find a person or story that interests you, it may have changed. Each of the interview excerpts comes with a little music too. I hope it plays on your computer but it is not integral to what they, or I, have to say. I am always looking for more subjects to interview. If you are beautiful or brilliant, ugly or boring, I don’t care. Should you be interested, you can contact me at the email link below. I am conducting interviews with individuals who are paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. That is what The Many Sides of Broken is all about. The impetus for this project was to cope with an irresolvable grief over my son’s broken neck in 2002. From the beginning my goal has been simple: Put a face on SCI and give a voice to those without one. These individuals have welcomed me into the midst of their traumatic experience. Their stories are, each and every one, compelling. I hear the most incredible things. I have been to their homes, accompanied them to rehab, met with their families, and been their designated driver when out for an evening. I am proud to call them friends. The subjects of my interviews provide motivation for this project. It was not, as you might expect, solely my son. (Pictured above) His injury delivered me to the battlefield but it is they who remind me I have to fight. At the end of one interview I asked a young woman what was her favorite thing. She replied, “I no longer have a favorite thing.” It was not an admittance of having quit on her life. It reflected, I believe, the state of her life in the sub-acute stage of SCI. Her adaptation was proceeding but the new her had not yet blossomed. Today, I think she would answer that question differently. SCI is a dynamic experience. Things change. Attitudes evolve, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. The quotes represent what they were feeling at the time of the interview. I maintain this website and conduct the interviews on my own, but the work belongs to the participants. In fact, if you are paralyzed or a caregiver to someone who is, then it belongs to you as well. John Music Acknowledgments Acknowledgments.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0



Interviews: What They Said... November  Rodeo  Globe  More below...  What I Wrote Commentary A Father’s Tale Photos Looking Good Paths Crossed Links Don Reed Care Cure U2FP CDRF Forums Interview Excerpts CJ7 Jenn Buckwheat Video Broken Bodies, Soaring Spirits November.htmlRodeo.htmlGlobechaser.htmlWhat_I_Wrote.htmlA_Fathers_Tale.htmlPhotos.htmlPhotos_II.htmlhttp://www.stemcellbattles.com/http://sci.rutgers.edu/http://unite2fightparalysis.org/http://communities.kintera.org/Reeve/CJ7.htmlJenn.htmlBuckwheat.htmlhttp://gallery.mac.com/jesmith2/100074http://gallery.mac.com/jesmith2/100074November.htmlRodeo.htmlGlobechaser.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15

My name is John Smith.  I write commentary on the science and politics of disability issues. I also advocate for the spinal injured community. Welcome.


Painting by Tim Ostler