Beating the Odds: A Teen Guide to 75 Superstars Who Overcame Adversity

364 Pages·2008·3.93 MB·English

by  Mary Ellen Snodgrass

Beating the Odds

Beating the Odds
A Teen Guide to 75 Superstars
Who Overcame Adversity
Mary Ellen Snodgrass
GREENWOOD PRESS
(cid:1)
Westport, Connecticut London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Snodgrass,MaryEllen.
Beatingtheodds:ateenguideto75superstarswhoovercameadversity/MaryEllenSnodgrass.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN:978–0–313–34564–7(alk.paper)
1.Peoplewithdisabilities—Biography. 2.Peoplewithmentaldisabilities—Biography.
3.Peoplewithsocialdisabilities—Biography. 4.Celebrities—Biography. 5.Courage—Casestudies.
6.Character—Casestudies. I.Title.
HV1552.3.S67 2008
362.4092(cid:1)2—dc22 2008016572
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:2)C 2008byMaryEllenSnodgrass
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2008016572
ISBN:978–0–313–34564–7
Firstpublishedin2008
GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.greenwood.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10987654321
For Jacob and Tom
Lord, make me to know the measure of my days on earth,
to consider my frailties, that I must perish.
—Johannes Brahms, Requiem Mass (1868)

Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Accident: Stephen King 1
Adultery: Hillary Clinton 5
Ageism: Maya Lin 9
Agoraphobia: Paula Deen 13
AIDS: Greg Louganis 17
Anorexia and Bulimia: Gelsey Kirkland 21
Asthma: Jackie Joyner-Kersee 26
Bariatric Surgery: Roseanne Barr 31
Bipolarity: Kaye Gibbons 35
Biracialism: Sandra Cisneros 39
Birth Defect: Jim Abbott 44
Brain, Lung, and Testicular Cancer: Lance Armstrong 48
Capture: Jessica Lynch 53
Career Dissatisfaction: Sean Covey 57
Cerebral Aneurysm: Patricia Neal 61
Child Abuse: David James Pelzer 66
Civil War: John Bul Dau 70
viii Contents
Congenital Glaucoma: Jose´ Feliciano 74
Custody Battle: Elia´n Gonza´lez 78
Deafness: Lou Ferrigno 83
Death of a Brother: Daniel Berrigan 87
Death Threat: Salman Rushdie 91
Dyslexia: Henry Winkler 95
Family Secrets: Joseph Bruchac 100
FBI Most Wanted List: Angela Davis 104
Foreign Birth: Katherine Wolmendorf Paterson 108
Foster Care: Ben Nighthorse Campbell 113
Gangs: Luis J. Rodriguez 118
Gender Misidentification: Jamie Koufman 122
Genetic Defect: Lorenzo Odone 126
Ghetto Upbringing: Colin Powell 130
Grief: Mitch Albom 135
Heart Disease: Martin Sheen 140
Hillbilly Background: Barbara Kingsolver 144
HIV: Magic Johnson 148
Holocaust: Elie Wiesel 153
Hydrocephalus: Sherman Joseph Alexie 157
Identity Crisis: Jamaica Kincaid 162
Contents ix
Illegitimacy: Esmeralda Santiago 166
Imprisonment: Martha Stewart 170
Integration: Melba Pattillo Beals 175
Japanese Internment: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston 180
Loss: Caroline Kennedy 185
Low School Achievement: Ben Carson 189
Lyme Disease: Amy Tan 193
McCarthyism: Pete Seeger 198
Militarism: Pat Conroy 202
Myasthenia Gravis: Wilma Mankiller 206
Nazism: Johanna Reiss 211
Paraplegia: Ron Kovic 216
Parkinson’s Disease: Michael J. Fox 220
Police Brutality: Dolores Huerta 224
Polio: Dianne O’Dell 228
Political Asylum: Khaled Hosseini 233
Preeclampsia: Jane Seymour 237
Public Ridicule: Jane Fonda 241
Racist Parent: Toni Morrison 246
Rape: Oprah Winfrey 250
Religious Fanaticism: Betty Mahmoody 254