The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney - 9780805074277 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

A young man once called unteachable journeys across America to investigate the lives of those, like himself, who are forced to create new ways of living in order to survive

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.

		The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney ISBN-10: 9780805074277 ISBN-10: 0-8050-7427-9 ISBN-13: 9780805074277 ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7427-7 Hardcover 2007-05-29 Henry Holt and Co. Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description A young man once called unteachable journeys across America to investigate the lives of those, like himself, who are forced to create new ways of living in order to survive 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.
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.
Grateful! So thrilled to have randomly come across such an entertaining, inspiring, and truly engrossing story that is both refreshingly honest and open heartedly spiritual, (in the best sense of the word.) The message of unconditional love and acceptance for those different then ourselves, while acknowledging his own and society's past shortcomings in this regard, needs to be heard! A hoot besides: despite my own unique wiring, I zipped through the book- allowing no distractions and laughing heartily all the way. from Suzi in Rye, NH
A long journey for a short trip I thought this book was going to offer some hope and practical wisdom. Rather, its a chronicle of the author's search for validation that offers no real insight into how one can deal with ADD (unless railing against norms helps.) Though the heart of his "success" story is to have graduated from Brown, he does not actually seem to have overcome anything to do so - its just another adventure on his way to who knows where. He's a likeable character and the stories of his trip across country are amusing enough. But I was pretty sick of his obsessive musings about his girlfriend and seriously worried about the families that reached out to him for advice and encouragement for their own "beyond normal" children. He was admittedly not equipped for either, other than to say: I was once a "tard" on the short bus but now I'm here!! I wish him all the best anyway.