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The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal
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Product Description
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.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #488461 in Books
- Published on: 2007-05-29
- Released on: 2007-05-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 288 pages
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–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, CA
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Review
"* "Endearing... Mooney's boundless empathy will surely console those who also face the worst that crust school children and the educational bureaucracy have to offer." - The New York Times Book Review."
Review
“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 and other books “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
“Hop on board The Short Bus with Jonathan Mooney to experience a one of a kind ride. Purposefully taking readers far beyond the limits of 'normalcy,' he drives deep into the heart of human existence—asking us where do we truly stand in our acceptance of diversity? As the informative, insightful, and irreverent guide of the tour, Mooney bares his soul and his ass in equal measure. Passing through the unpredictable landscape, we encounter the often disarming beauty of human difference embodied in the everyday lives of (extra)ordinary people who--by their very existence—shatter the ideals of "mainstream" America. Ultimately, The Short Bus is a true celebration of survival and diversity.”—Dr. David J. Connor, Co-author of Reading Resistance
“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 disabilities. Mooney understands the power that comes when disabled children and adults claim their identity, reject social constructs of what is normal, and define success on their own terms. By journeying beyond normal, Mooney shows the way to a more human, more interesting destination that can transform the field of education, lay bare the shortcomings of the helping professions, and help disabled people get in touch with their own power.”—Andrew Imparato, President and CEO American Association of People with Disabilities
“Get on Jonathan Mooney’s bus—he will drive you to the heart of the matter.”—Simi Linton, author of the memoir My Body Politic “The Short Bus is a wonderful ‘on the road’ story that beats out even Kerouac’s book. . . . Superbly written.”—John McKnight, author of The Careless Society.
“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. A true pleasure to read!”—Bradley Lewis, MD, PhD, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University
“The Short Bus should be tucked into the back of every short bus seat as a treat. And it should be required reading for every PTA, every school board, and every person involved with kids in any way.”—Josh Blue, Card-carrying member of the Freak Club
“The view from The Short Bus is candid, irreverent and eye opening. Mooney takes us On the Road, asking what happens when you stop chasing the horizon of normalcy and start reveling in your differences.”—Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Chairman, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, Author of Moore than Moody and It’s Nobody’s Fault
“Ride Jonathan Mooney’s The Short Bus and you will be changed. With captivating storytelling, Mooney kidnaps the reader away from ‘normal’ for a journey that is hilarious, heartbreaking, and ultimately liberating. Anyone has had to deal with the ill fitted suit of ‘normalcy’ in their coming-of-age will recognize the struggles in these stories -- and as it turns out that means every one of us! The Short Bus gives us a whole new way to understand all young people, and to support the genius of difference in our communities.”—Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of All Souls and Easter Rising
“Endearing . . . chatty narrative . . . [Mooney’s] boundless empathy will surely console those who also face the worst that cruel schoolchildren and the educational bureaucracy have to offer.”—New York Times Book Review
“There can be no question, after [Mooney] is done with his tour—that abandoning this fear [of the other] is a mind and heart-stretching exercise. The kids are unforgettable. . . . 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
Customer Reviews
I really wanted to like this book...
The Short Bus is allegedly a record of Jonathan Mooney's four month, 35,000 mile journey around the United States to document the lives of people who have been labeled "not normal" by our society. As a homeschooling parent who is intimately familiar with the plight of young people who do not thrive in a "one-size-fits-all" school system, I was looking forward to reading about how these unique individuals define themselves and succeed on their own terms.
That's not what this book is about. Instead, The Short Bus records the self-absorbed ruminations of a sad, insecure man whose past colors and shapes every experience he has.
According to the author's notes, "all profiles of individuals are subjective renderings of their experience." No kidding. Some of the portraits are so brief that their inclusion adds little to the narrative. Many more of the "biographies" track the author's purported growth and self-discovery through the acceptance of others whose differences from "normal" are greater than his own. Mooney could have allowed these exceptional individuals to describe themselves, their lives, their goals and their beliefs. Instead, his self-referencing interpretations of his subjects and their experiences hang cloud-like over every encounter. Worse yet, Mooney admits (at least twice) that while others are talking, he's not listening!
Mooney's single-minded indictment of the educational system is also questionable. By his own admission, he grew up in a family where the carpets "always reeked of [dog] urine." His father is an alcoholic. His (now deceased) grandmother was prone to alcoholic rages. His sister, mother, and maternal uncle all struggle with clinical depression. His mother raised his half-siblings on welfare, with the help of her brother, who cared for her children when she was "(depending on the source) either fighting for the workers' liberation or drinking with hippies." His family's history is one of "amnesia, lies and denials" and his relationship with his father is strained at best. Yet Mooney skirts the possibility that his dysfunctional family life may be at least partially responsible for his existential unhappiness---instead, our narrow-minded society and flawed educational system are primarily at fault.
While I'm not denying that schools and society can cause great misery for some kids, strong and functional family members can help children navigate or exit educational bureaucracies and can also be powerful allies who support children through extremely difficult times. A "different" child whose family life adds to his troubles is in dire straits indeed.
Mooney is also unable or unwilling to examine some of his mortifying experiences from anyone else's perspective. For example, he describes confusing "a right from a left turn" during a road test with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and is insulted when the examiner asks if he's "retarded" and writes "disparaging comments" such as "distracted" and "shows poor decision-making in traffic" on his temporary license. While the examiner's name-calling is inexcusable, Mooney is so invested in his victimhood that he does not consider how the examiner felt when the driver he was evaluating made a glaring error. Did he feel angry, helpless, afraid for his life and for the safety of others on the road? Did Mooney apologize or was he sullen and defensive? Could his mistake have caused an accident? Additional information would have been helpful, but any detail that doesn't reinforce Mooney's self-righteous indignation is omitted.
Finally, I believe that this young man, who parents of labeled children look to for hope and guidance, needs to take a close look at his own poor choices. Mooney has a family history of alcoholism, was arrested in his youth for underage drinking and spent a night in detox, lost his driver's license for five years for driving under the influence, yet deliberately and repeatedly chooses to get drunk during the course of this book. It is unbearably sad when a person with so much potential can't seem to recognize or acknowledge that he needs to reexamine his relationship with alcohol.
I wish Mr. Mooney all the best, but I did not like his book.
Incredibly Insightful
This book is full of compassion and insight for those that Jonathan visits with and writes about. His honesty will challenge you to deal with your own preconceived ideas and stereotypes. You can not read it and not get real with yourself.
Jonathan's humor and honesty are what makes this book possible. There are not that many people that would be invited into the homes and lives of all the people that you will meet in his journey. The various personalities all mesh together to create a thought provoking story that will draw you in and not only entertain you immensely but educate in you ways that we all need to be educated.
Thank you Mr. Mooney for writing this book!
Mooney is on the Money
I picked up this book almost as an afterthought. The topic looked interesting and I thought it would make a good quick read...instead I was enthralled with each story and found that after every chapter I needed to take a little time to digest what I had read.
The Short Bus is an excellent read...a story of a journey for one man to understand himself through traveling in the very symbol of his own "imprisonment" He gains insights which come from looking at and examining the idiosyncrasies in the lives of others. Mooney is honest about himself..his own prejudices and judgements..each story enlightened me about various learning disabilities..and demonstrated how categorizing can easily limit people or cause them to be ostracized. While I felt saddened by the treatment of many of the people Mooney visits, none of them caused me to feel anything but hope and amazement at the power of the human spirit to survive. Mooney is insightful and humorous while honoring each of his stories with truth and compassion.
