The insights Harriet McBryde Johnson gleans from life with a neuromuscular disease and that John Hockenberry writes about from life lived in a wheelchair may profoundly shift your understanding of "disability" and ask you to question certain norms and perceptions inherent in American society and around the world.

Please offer thorough, detailed, and deeply explored responses to the following three questions.

NOTE: Please be sure to devote equal time to responding to each of these questions.

1. Through reading selections from Johnson's and Hockenberry's accounts, has your understanding of disability changed? If so, how? If not, what experiences have you had that brought you to similar understandings and realizations?

Perhaps you have had a combination of both a shift in understanding as well as penetrating connections to the author's insights- if so, describe.

2. What does Johnson's memoir reveal about the American healthcare system? Pay specific attention to her experiences in Cuba (chapter: "Believing in Dreams") and her hospital experiences (see chapter "Getting Thrown").

3. Hockenberry offers detailed descriptions regarding how the people's of various cultures have perceived and behaved toward him as a paraplegic.

Explore the different attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of these cultures, as described by Hockenberry. Your discussion should include his observations of: Kurds, Iranians, and New Yorkers.

3 PAGES ESSAY - double-spaced - Please offer an in-depth exploration.