Product Description

'I think it's wrong for me to complain that people don't understand disability and then refuse to talk about my personal life. Telling my story is the best way I know to make issues I care about understood'. In autumn 2005, Alison Lapper's body became familiar to thousands of people when Marc Quinn's 16-foot marble statue of her - Alison Lapper: Pregnant - was placed on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. "My Life in My Hands" is Alison's story: from her mother's rejection at birth, through a childhood deprived of affection in children's homes, to independence, a first class art degree, motherhood and critical success. Her resilience, fortitude and humour are humbling, yet she rejects any notion of 'bravery'. From the beginning, Alison was different to most children, yet through the strength of her personality and the nurturing of her artistic talents, she was determined to live as full a life as possible. "My Life in My Hands" challenges our perceptions of disability by showing how Alison overcame pain, prejudice, violence and loneliness to reach a state of happy independence. "My Life in My Hands" is an extraordinary and compelling story like no other.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42635 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Stepping stone
I was really inspired reading Alison's story and although I in no way have been through half of what Alison has, her story has turned out to be a catalist for my own life's path and what I hope to achieve. I became completely engrossed in her story and it feels like a very opportune time for me to be reading about her extraodinary confidence and enthusiasm. It was a real page turner, unputdownable, I read it over the weekend and tomorrow I am off to London for the day to see the statue in Trafalgar Square.

Good but I can't help feeling a bit sorry for her son
As a former carer for physically disabled people I was very interested in Alison's story & shocked @ how instutional her upbringing was & the overtly sexual manner in which male carers seemed to relate to her when she was in care. She seems to be a very resilient lady & has no self-pity while living life to the full. However, & I know it's not politically correct to say so, I can't help feeling sorry for her son who will never apparently see his Dad or have any siblings - children do deserve to be wanted by both parents & to know who their Dad is - women, whether able-bodied or disabled, should really be careful about contraception & respect their partner's/ fling's wishes not to have the child (as a single person myself, I would have an abortion if a boyfriend did not want the baby). However, the child does seem to have made her very happy & Alison does raise valuable worthwhile issues about political correctness, the sexuality of disabled people & women in general, & the ongoing discrimination against disabled people.

Everybody should read this inspiring book
Despite being born with no arms, truncated legs, and vestigial feet Alison Lapper proves that if you are determined enough you can do anything. Abandoned at birth by a mother who could not cope physically or mentally with Alison's disabilities, she spent the first seventeen years of her life in a home in southern England. Life was tough in the home, but Alison's indomitable spirit rises above it all. When the home pushes her out reluctantly into the big wild she learns to drive a specially adapted car and passes her test at the first attempt. A failed marriage later she takes up again her lifelong passion for art, gains a First Class Honours degree in fine art, earns her living from art, gets an MBE, has a son, and has a ten foot high statue of herself on display in Trafalgar Square. There is a lovely moment when Alison and a friend meet the late Princess Diana one night in London and spend 20 minutes chatting.