Grit: A Family Memoir On Adversity And Triumph

Jeff Moyer, troubadour of the disability rights movement, tells the story of his family?s struggle with his younger brother?s severe cognitive disability and ultimate institutionalization in a barbaric state institution. Moyer?s progressive blindness and his difficulty receiving academic justice before the advent of the Disability Rights Movement is a concomitant story followed by his attendance at University of California at Berkley and his introduction to disability rights. Moyer?s father developed mouth cancer and was subjected to over-radiation resulting in the loss of his lower jaw, the ability to speak and swallow. Moyer interweaves his role as a disability rights activist in California and his work on the forefront of voice-output communication aids with his father?s plight and his brother?s ongoing victimization within the violent state institution. Moyer returns to his hometown and slowly pulls his brother, Mark, up the food chain of housing until he establishes a home in his own neighborhood. There, for the first time in 33 years, Mark lives without thievery, violence, and lack of privacy. Moyer?s role as a disability rights songwriter includes a performance of his ?The ADA Anthem? following the signing of the American?s with Disabilities Act along with his leadership in synthetic speech singing and production of music-based materials on social inclusion, anti-bullying, and the normalcy of disability. Moyer?s son, John Kyle, was born with severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which remained undiagnosed until his early adulthood. Following his father?s example, John Kyle rails against the ridicule of people with disabilities, although his advocacy loses friendships.Moyer?s advocacy led to appearances on NPR, 20/20, CBS Evening News, and a BBC documentary on the U.S. Disability Rights Movement. Moyer developed a new paradigm on cognitive disability called Multiple Wisdoms. Moyer?s father?s story is told in a Cleveland Clinic book on facial disfigurement. GRIT lifts high the banner of resilience and the strength of the human spirit as 60 years of American disability history is told by one of the men who has played a leading role in its evolution.

• | Author: Jeff Moyer
• | Publisher: Music From The Heart
• | Publication Date: Dec 19, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 369 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback/Biography & Autobiography
• | ISBN-10: 0967576806
• | ISBN-13: 9780967576800