The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal Review
This book was a requirement for a graduate course I took on learning disabilities. The teacher had a copy on hand for us to thumb through the first day of class. After just reading a couple of paragraphs here and there I couldn't let it go. I had to borrow the book that night and devoured it immediately. I bought a copy anyway because I think that all adults who consider themselves educated could benefit from Mooney's writing. I learned more in this text than I had in dozens of expensive textbooks. My copy is worn from being lent out to friends, colleagues, and family.
Mooney does not simply teach the symptoms of disability. He teaches interaction, empathy, and most of all that as with all things a sense of humor is a must. I appreciated his tone and found comfort in the idea that while things can seem heartbreaking, it is always okay to laugh. I am beginning my journey in the field of special education. When finding my interactions with students awkward and scary, I can open this book to nearly any section and find insight and support. The people that Mooney discovers on his path are what makes our world colorful, imaginative, and fun.
This book is a must have for any educator, family of a person battling with "normal", or anyone that considers himself a well rounded human being. Buy it! You'll be better off because of it.
The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal Overview
“What makes this journey so inspiring is Mooney’s transcendent humor; the self he has become does not turn away from old pain but can laugh at it, make fun of it, make it into something beautiful.”—Los Angeles Times
Labeled “dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled,” Jonathan Mooney was a short-bus rider—a derogatory term used for kids in special education. To learn how others had moved beyond labels, he bought his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up magical, beautiful ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world.
The Short Bus is his irreverent and poignant record of that odyssey, meeting thirteen people in thirteen states who taught Mooney that there’s no such thing as normal—and that to really live, every person must find their own special way of keeping on. The Short Bus is a unique gem, propelled by Mooney’s heart, humor, and outrageous rebellions.Labeled “dyslexic and profoundly learning disabled with attention and behavior problems,” Jonathan Mooney was a short bus rider—a derogatory term used for kids in special education and a distinction that told the world he wasn't “normal.” Along with other kids with special challenges, he grew up hearing himself denigrated daily. Ultimately, Mooney surprised skeptics by graduating with honors from Brown University. But he could never escape his past, so he hit the road. To free himself and to learn how others had moved beyond labels, he created an epic journey. He would buy his own short bus and set out cross-country, looking for kids who had dreamed up magical, beautiful ways to overcome the obstacles that separated them from the so-called normal world.
In The Short Bus, his humorous, irreverent, and poignant record of this odyssey, Mooney describes his four-month, 35,000-mile journey across borders that most people never see. He meets thirteen people in thirteen states, including an eight-year-old deaf and blind girl who likes to curse out her teachers in sign language. Then there’s Butch Anthony, who grew up severely learning disabled but who is now the proud owner of the Museum of Wonder. These people teach Mooney that there’s no such thing as normal and that to really live, every person must find their own special ways of keeping on. The Short Bus is a unique gem, propelled by Mooney’s heart, humor, and outrageous rebellions.
“By the end of The Short Bus, Mooney will have you wondering just where the deficits lie: with kids so labeled or the labelers themselves . . . Although many of those recollections are sad and discomfiting, Mooney uses self-depreciating humor to diffuse anything that smacks of a pity party. Most important, he celebrates the immense diversity of human minds, reminding us that there is much to learned from those who make their home somewhere beyond ‘normal.’”—Carole Goldberg, Newsday
“What makes this journey so inspiring is Mooney’s transcendent humor; the self he has become does not turn away from old pain but can laugh at it, make it into something beautiful.”—Susan Reynolds, Los Angeles Times
“By the end of The Short Bus, Mooney will have you wondering just where the deficits lie: with kids so labeled or the labelers themselves . . . Although many of those recollections are sad and discomfiting, Mooney uses self-depreciating humor to diffuse anything that smacks of a pity party. Most important, he celebrates the immense diversity of human minds, reminding us that there is much to learned from those who make their home somewhere beyond ‘normal.’”—Carole Goldberg, Newsday
“Author Jonathan Mooney buys and retools an old, short school bus—the symbol of special education in America—and drives it around the country for four months, seeking out people who are disabled or diagnosed or labeled with some sort of academic or social difficulty. The resulting book combines the story of a raucous road trip and a more serious look at how Americans view those of us who are different.”—Bill Lohmann, Richmond Times-Dispatch
“By the end of this provocative, even radical book, he’ll have you wondering just where the deficits lie: with kids so labeled, or the labelers themselves . . . Mooney packs a lot into his long trip on the short bus . . . He pilots the short bus across America, with us as passengers, to visit men and women who do not, cannot and will never ‘fit in,’ and are all the more talented, frustrated and fascinating because of the far-from-ordinary ways their brains work.”—Carole Goldberg, The Hartford Courant
"In this wonderful memoir, John Mooney charts his passage out of ableism and saneism. Along the way, he teaches us the possibility of joining him in a state of mind beyond the binaries of the normal and the pathological."—Bradley Lewis, MD, PhD, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University
“Author Jonathan Mooney buys and retools an old, short school bus—the symbol of special education in America—and drives it around the country for four months, seeking out people who are disabled or diagnosed or labeled with some sort of academic or social difficulty. The resulting book combines the story of a raucous road trip and a more serious look at how Americans view those of us who are different.”—Bill Lohmann, Richmond Times-Dispatch
“By the end of this provocative, even radical book, he’ll have you wondering just where the deficits lie: with kids so labeled, or the labelers themselves . . . Mooney packs a lot into his long trip on the short bus . . . He pilots the short bus across America, with us as passengers, to visit men and women who do not, cannot and will never ‘fit in,’ and are all the more talented, frustrated and fascinating because of the far-from-ordinary ways their brains work.”—Carole Goldberg, The Hartford Courant
"In this wonderful memoir, John Mooney charts his passage out of ableism and saneism. Along the way, he teaches us the possibility of joining him in a state of mind beyond the binaries of the normal and the pathological."—Bradley Lewis, MD, PhD, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University
"Many kids with physical, mental, and learning disabilities have ridden the 'short bus' to special-education classes, signaling that they were different, singled out, not 'normal.' Mooney was one of those short bus children who hated school because he was dyslexic and couldn't read until he was 12. In 2003, a few years after he graduated from Brown University, he cowrote a book on learning disabilities and began a career of public speaking on the subject. Then he set out on a journey. He bought an old short bus and traveled from Los Angeles to Maine to Washington and back to L.A., stopping to visit with various people who were also not 'normal.' Along the way, he confronted his own preconceptions and assumptions about people with autism, Down syndrome, deafness and blindness, ADHD, and other so-called disabilities. In this book, he deals with the question of 'What is normal?' This is a story about a young man coming to accept himself, but also a cautionary tale about what happens in schools, in the workplace, and in society when people fail to recognize that everyone is normal, just in different ways. Mooney is an engaging writer with a sense of humor about his own failings, and his story is an entertaining and enlightening one."—Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, California,School Library Journal
"Jonathan Mooney is an uplifting, rebellious voice who will strike a chord with anyone who has ever had a hard time marching in step in a culture of conformity. His book is not just about how Jon found personal success after growing up with severe learning differences (dyslexia and ADHD), it's the story of his journey to accept himself by finding others labeled "disabled" or "not normal" who have survived and even triumphed. In person, in his amazing speeches around the country, Jonathan speaks with heart, spirit and energy, helping audiences re-imagine their lives. He does this same thing in his remarkable, magical book. Get on the short bus and fasten your seat belts. No matter who you are, you won't be the same at the end of this ride."—Edward M. Hallowell M.D., author of Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most Out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
"Curious and compassionate, clearheaded and self-questioning, enlightened and illuminating, Jonathan Mooney takes us on a modern yet timeless odyssey. In his drive across America, he steers us past his own painful memories, through the history of disabilities, and into the lives of people who refuse to be oppressed. A long overdue tribute to our brothers and sisters on the short bus, and a desperately needed battle cry against the tyranny of normalcy."—Rachel Simon, author of Riding the Bus with My Sister
“The Short Bus is a must-read account of a subversive journey through the heartland of normalcy. Mooney's trip is like Steinbeck's Travels with Charley or Kerouac's On the Road, only his subjects are a colorful gaggle of people with learning disabilities who share a refreshing irreverence towards the received ideas of a therapeutic society. Mooney writes with a strong power of observation and a refreshing writing style that makes you understand how good a writer a card-carrying dyslexic can be. Anyone interested in America, disability, or the pleasures of being alive should read this work.”—Lennard Davis, author of Enforcing Normalcy
"This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks they are in the business of 'helping' or 'serving' people with dis...
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Customer Reviews
A must read - Mike -
I had the pleasure of hearing mr. Mooney address the freshman class at university of Idaho this week. His book is the "common read" selection for this year for U of I. I read his book and was very glad my son is attending a school that is supporting the ideas expressed in this excellent story. Please read this book. It will let give you the gift of a new perspective on education, human dignity and how we as a society define normal (and the price we pay for that ridgid definition).
Mike
Horrible, Mean Spirited Book - Alyssa D. Eldredge - Idaho Falls, ID
This book is required reading for my university. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have gotten past the first twenty pages.
What I thought would be a book delving into the psychology of "being normal", it turns out that it far more closely resembles an exceptionally long angst-fest. The author spends pages upon pages denouncing the special ed system based upon bad experiences some children (himself included) have had while simultaneously lambasting integrated classrooms because the special needs students get singled out or anxious.
At one point, the narrator bemoans the fact that a young ADD student who is very good at soccer has to have special classes in the summer to help him to read better. Though the narrator said just a sentence or two prior that the classes had shown to be very effective, he thinks that the boy's time would be better playing soccer. I'm sorry, Mr. Mooney, but reading is a necessary life skill; soccer isn't.
There were just so many instances when I wanted to just yell and the book and throw it across the room. The "characters" all swear like sailors, for one thing. I don't think I could open the book and NOT find an instance of the F-bomb on the page I was looking at. Most of that anger was directed toward society and "normal"ness in general. Another of these annoying places I found was when Mooney took a break from special ed kids and spent several pages talking about a transvestite called "Cookie." What does that have to do with "The Short Bus"? Are you trying to tell me to be more tolerant of tranvestites? It's one thing to discriminate against mental diseases/defects that the person can't help. It's another to avoid a heavyset man who chooses to wear fishnets and pink fluffy robes.
The author/narrator really began to get on my nerves after a while. Over the course of the book, he drinks heavily, he throws around curses like they were free Skittles, often denouncing "normal" with them. At one point, the man gets drunk, gets a mohawk, puts on a sarong, and steals a bike and rides it into the desert. No, I'm not kidding. He officially lost all credibility he had with me at that point.
This book was very hard for me to finish because it made me so angry. Mooney didn't suggest any kind of solution for special education problems that he began to address and instead blames society and has a sour feeling for normal people. There were no new insights from this book. It was a "pity-me" ride across the country. I kept on asking, "What's the POINT, Mooney?!"
I never got a reply.
Great Deal - Beth A. Gray - Atlanta, Ga
Great book for teachers and parents of special needs students. Actually maybe it is the general ed. teachers who need to read it. It gives you a very special view of what those kids face everyday and hopefully helps you see beyond the disability to the heart of the individual!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 05, 2010 10:13:06
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