When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked
'What is a hero?' I remember the glib response I repeated so
many times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commits
a courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldier
who crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy to
safety. And I also meant individuals who are slightly larger
than life: Houdini and Lindbergh, John Wayne, JFK, and Joe
DiMaggio. Now my definition is completely different. I
think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to
persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: a
fifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling with
his brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; Travis
Roy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in his
freshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so are
the families and friends who have stood by them."
The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggled
for life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the third jump of a riding
competition, Reeve was thrown headfirst from his horse in an
accident that broke his neck and left him unable to move or
breathe.
In the years since then, Reeve has not only survived, but has
fought for himself, for his family, and for the hundreds of
thousands of people with spinal cord injuries in the United States
and around the world. And he has written Still Me, the
heartbreaking, funny, courageous, and hopeful story of his
life.
Chris describes his early success on Broadway opposite the
legendary Katherine Hepburn, the adventure of filming Superman on
the streets of New York, and how the movie made him a star.
He continued to move regularly between film acting and theater work
in New York, Los Angeles, and at the WIlliamstown Theatre Festival
in the Berkshires. Reunited with his Bostonians director,
James Ivory, in 1992, he traveled to England to work with Emma
Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day.
The Man who cannot move has not stopped moving. He has
established a charitable foundation to raise awareness and money
for research on spinal cord injuries. His work as director of
the HBO film In the Gloaming earned him an Emmy nomination, one of
five that the film received. His speeches at the Democratic
National Convention and the Academy Awards inspired people around
the country and the world. He has testified before Congress
on behalf of health insurance legislation, lobbied for increased
federal funding for spinal cord research, and developed a working
relationship with President Clinton.
With dignity and sensitivity, he describes the journey he has
made--physically, emotionally, spiritually. He explores his
complex relationship with his parents, his efforts to remain a
devoted husband and father, and his continuing and heroic battle to
rebuild his life.
This is the determined, passionate story of one man, a gifted
actor and star, and how he and his family came to grips with the
kind of devastating, unexplainable shock that fate can bring to any
of us. Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the
spirit to create a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused
on the future.
From the Hardcover edition.
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