Still Me: With a New Afterword for this Edition

The Book was Perfectly written and Flawlessly told by Christopher Reeve! The Man has been through so much before and after his accident!!!! He has bare his heart, Mind, and Soul in this book. He told his early childhood growing up, his relationship with his parents before and after his divorce, his relationship with his brother and their sibling rivalry to catch the attention, love and approval of their father, his relationship with his step brother and step sisters in his father and mother's s side, his struggles in studying in Cornell and Williams town University starting as an actor, his rise to stardom and becoming the Box Office King and the No.1 American Actor in Hollywood, his struggles in married life and as a father, his heroics in freeing the actors imprisoned in Chile by the Dictator Pinochet, his accident and how he cope up and endure it's s aftermath!!! Damn!!! This guy Really is Superman!!!!Imagine him Acting, Directing, Producing, Screen Writing, Writing Books, Running a Foundation, and lobbying for funding for Researches for Cures not only for Paralysis but also other incurable diseases as well, and he has done All of these while paralyzed. Indeed this is Proof that he is The Real, True, and One and Only Superman of All Time!!!This inspired both P.W.D.'s and Common People alike to do what they can in life and always Go Forward!!! Cause that's s what Superman stands for: A symbol of Hope and inspiration to People to All Over the World that Nothing is Impossible!!!That's why the title of the book is Still Me because he has shown the world that no matter who ever Don's the cape and suit, Christopher Reeve Was, Still, Always and Forever Will be Superman!!!!

My initial reading of Still Me, the autobiography of competitive sportsman, A-list actor, Emmy-nominated director, producer and screenwriter, passionate activist, and author Christopher Reeve was immediately following its 1998 release, three years after he was thrown headfirst from his horse during the Memorial Day, 1995 horse jumping competition that left him unable to move or breathe—a time when I, along with almost everyone in the civilized world, was still reeling from the irony of the fact that “our” Superman would never walk, or do anything under his own power again, much less fly. I needed to read it again recently as research for the book I am writing that I hope to publish in the autumn of this year—a novel in which one of the main characters is paralyzed from his chest down by a bullet wound to his spine. I searched every nook and cranny for my pristine, hardback, first-edition copy of Reeve’s autobiography, and to my horror realized that in a harrying period of downsizing nineteen months ago, I donated it to a local public library, apparently. I remember weighing the pros and cons of holding on to it, and I was sure I decided in its favor—but…oh well. I have experienced this same gut-wrenching regret over the donation of other precious books that held places of honor in my formerly extensive library. Oh, the awful things life too often forces us to do! I ordered another copy of it, and my second reading of it reminded me of what a good and important book Still Me is. I will state at the outset, just to get it out of the way, that its only drawback that I can see is its title. As explained in the book, the title derives from Reeve’s wife Dana’s assurance to him following the accident that despite everything, he was still the same person, and she would be with him forevermore. Regardless, from the moment I first heard the title, it also suggested to me a double entendre on Reeve’s “stilled” condition. No matter the motivation behind it, it is an unfortunate title, in my opinion. However, it is the first and last mistake in this significant, well-written, non-fiction book. Reeve begins his life story with the following: “A few months after the accident I had an idea for a short film about a quadriplegic who lives in a dream. During the day, lying in his hospital bed, he can’t move, of course. But at night he dreams that he’s whole again, and is able to do anything and go everywhere. This is someone who had been a lifelong sailor, and who had always loved the water, and he had a beautiful gaff-rigged sloop. Not like my boat, the Sea Angel, which was modern and made of fiberglass. In the story the boat is a great old wooden beauty, whose varnish gleams in the moonlight…In his dream he sails down the path of a full moon, and there’s a gentle breeze, perfect conditions—the kind of romantic night sailing that anyone can imagine. But by seven in the morning, he’s back in his bed in the rehab hospital and everything is frozen again…” He goes on to relate the entire idea, and then says“…But the way out is through your relationships. The way out of that misery or obsession is to focus more on what your little boy needs or what your teenagers need or what other people around you need. It’s very hard to do, and often you have to force yourself. But that is the answer to the dilemma of being frozen—at least it’s the answer I found.” Throughout the book, just when the inner workings of the agonizing daily routine of his “frozen” existence as he describes it, is in danger of treading territory too heartbreaking for the reader to bear, Reeve turns to lighter fare. He embarks on a spellbinding, often funny, always moving, treatise of his life before his disability, including his bittersweet childhood as a product of divorced parents, his triumphs in sports, his first-rate college education, his advocacy for funding of the arts, his seemingly anointed pathway to acting, for many years on stage, both in classical and contemporary productions, and then in films, with his role as Superman skyrocketing him to stardom. The breadth and diversity of his acting career was a revelation to me, so attuned was I to him as Clark Kent in Superman, to the romantic lead Richard Collier in the cult film Somewhere in Time, and to the American Congressman Jack Lewis in the British film The Remains of the Day. He takes us into his ten-year relationship with the mother of his two older children Matthew and Alexandra, teenagers at the time of the release of the book. And then to Dana, and although his beloved, his commitment issues threatened to sabotage their love. His humanity came through most clearly with his admission of that weakness in himself, but true to the pattern of his life, he set out to rid himself of that flaw. He sought counseling, and it worked. He and Dana married and bore their son William. For the first time, he was happy in his personal life, for the first time as well, gave it precedence over his career and sporting life. The accident occurred only three years into their marriage. His disability ceaselessly tugged at him to be told, however, and with flawless timing and immaculate taste, he returned to the subject of paralysis as a result of spinal cord trauma, interspersing his personal trials and triumphs pertaining to it with a generalized discussion of spinal cord injury, its modes of treatment and its ramifications. An in-depth review of his new life is included—his return to his film career, and his use of his celebrity to become an ambassador for all victims of the disability—fund-raising for the American Paralysis Association, and other such entities, as well as a consistent program of lobbying Congress for funds devoted to research, for insurance reform, among other things. His speaking itinerary was so full that his previous life seemed almost static by comparison. In this way, he continued his financial support of his family. His crowning achievement was the foundation he and Dana formed—The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Paralysis Research Center which is dedicated to raising funds for medical research of and—ultimately—a cure for spinal cord injury paralysis—Toll Free (800) 539-7309; International Callers (973) 467-8270 – www.christopherreeve.org. Matthew and Alexandra serve on the board of directors of the foundation.The format of the book is spot-on. Reeve merged his past and present seamlessly. It is like a father and son gently lobbing a ball back and forth, or a duet between Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga—divergent in every possible way other than the matched quality of their voices and their mirrored urgency to tell their individual versions of the same story. I wish I had known Christopher Reeve—I wish I had been his associate, his pal. His was a purposeful life—a life well-lived.

This book will always be one of my very favorite reads. I find it difficult to explain how deeply personal and powerful this book is for me. It is inspiring and saddening at the same time. A bittersweet read that everyone should have on their shelves.

With this book, Christopher Reeve brought to light the necessity of medical advances without the need of a world war to prompt one. Have we not learned form history? Or, are we still the same old prehistoric creatures? I believe that we have truly come a long way and certainly quite capable of making decisions that could possibly help people in the future. Stop watching Sci Fi freak horror shows and start visiting hospitals where reality lays, in a bed without a functioning limb, degenerate organs, and countless other medical conditions that can be resolved through stem cell research. Christopher Reeve delivers humanity, as it should have always been recognized. He delivers a dream held by so many people and it is up to humanity to preserve humanity and not to let our differences, whether physical or mental, polarize and fracture us.

I knew who Christopher Reeve was and enjoyed his performance in Superman. I also recall hearing about his accident, death, and the death of his wife. I hadn't thought about it much until the new "Man of Steel" movie came out. Having not followed much of Reeve's activities after his accident, I found this book both moving and inspirational. I was impressed by the honesty of his writing and the touching and painful details of his life as a wheel-chair bound individual, unable to even breathe on his own. Given his prior status as a highly successful, physically active and handsome man prior to his accident, this book is particularly poignant. Reeve's honesty and sense of loss come through profoundly in his writing, yet he continues to strive toward the goals of his new life and find a cure for himself and others. He also writes about his family, career and many achievements before and after the accident.

It's incredible, how much work Christopher Reeve did for Spinal Cord Injury and Stem Cell Research. No one else has done as much to improve the lives of people with Physical Disabilities.

hard to believe Christopher Reeve was paralysed when this book was written he was such a strong character rarely losing hope of regaining the ability to walk, always trying something new to help himself and the book reflects his strong determined nature. A sad story as now we know the ending...one which proves that we have to live for today.

This is a fabulous book, like most people i moan and get fed up with hum drum life, but how blessed i feel to (a) to have my health and (b) to be grateful for what i've got in life, which could be all the luxury,money, and fame mr reeve had, but he couldn'nt buy his broken body back, this is such a well written book so sad, but he was brave til the end.

This is the only book which makes you feel that you know exactly how the author feels. It is heartbreakingly honest and this man is truly a brave man to write with such honesty. Chris does not gloss over the horror of his disability or his desperation/loss of a previous life. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

If you have had a broken neck but it was not a severe break - you will appreciate how lucky you were. This is the well told true story about the riding accident which resulted in which Christopher Reeve's devastating fracture of his cervical spine. He was very unlucky and very brave.