About this item
Highlights
- Told with elegant humor and compassion, a memoir by popular motivational speaker and activist David Roche that explores the beauty found in unusual places....brilliant, illuminated, painful, wise, encouraging and funny.
- Author(s): David Roche
- 192 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, People with Disabilities
Description
Book Synopsis
Told with elegant humor and compassion, a memoir by popular motivational speaker and activist David Roche that explores the beauty found in unusual places.
...brilliant, illuminated, painful, wise, encouraging and funny. --Anne Lamott
David Roche was born with vascular malformation of the face, which he sees as an "incredible gift" that has forced him to look inside for beauty and self-worth. It has also helped him to see the beauty in others, despite their flaws, allowing him to live in a world of beautiful people. With a refreshingly good-natured outlook, Roche muses on disability, activism, religion and family.
Roche tells the personal story of his journey towards finding happiness, which culminated in his receiving the Order of Canada. Germinating in his "seriously Catholic" childhood and teenage years spent studying in a seminary to be a priest, Roche grew up adhering to doctrine, which paved the way for a "fairly seamless transition" into twelve years of devotion to the Democratic Workers Party.
Roche's life came to a turning point when he realized that, although he had been devoted to changing the world, he didn't know his own soul. Eventually freed by the dissolution of the Democratic Workers Party, Roche turned towards a more meaningful way of life, embracing acceptance and love.
Review Quotes
"This new book by David Roche, like all his work, is brilliant, illuminated, painful, wise, encouraging and funny. The stories in Standing at the Back Door of Happiness, about his facial deformity side by side with his rich inner beauty and joy in living, filled my heart and soul with a deep compassion for myself, and for you, whoever you are." --Anne Lamott, international bestselling author
"Humorist Roche (The Church of 80% Sincerity) reflects on living with a disability and growing up in a large family in this tender memoir...Humorous narrative detours...effectively counterbalance the sincerity, while sections on Roche's struggles with alcoholism add depth. This succinct memoir makes a big impression." Publishers Weekly
"Roche's message of love, self-care, tolerance, and joy is grounded not only in suffering, but also impressive levels of service to others. There are lessons here for us all, and they are delivered in Roche's signature deft, conversational prose. Highly recommended." --Tom Sandborn, Vancouver Sun
-- "Anne Lamott"