



If at Birth You Don't Succeed
My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny
-
-
4.4 • 31 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Hilarious and inspiring, Anner has made a life filled with fans, love, and Internet fame—reminding us that disability is no match for dreams.”—People (Book of the Week)
“Zach Anner is way more than an inspirational figure for anyone who has ever felt impossibly different: he’s also a great f**king writer.”—Lena Dunham
Comedian Zach Anner opens his frank and devilishly funny book, If at Birth You Don't Succeed, with an admission: he botched his own birth. Two months early, underweight and under-prepared for life, he entered the world with cerebral palsy and an uncertain future. So how did this hairless mole-rat of a boy blossom into a viral internet sensation who's hosted two travel shows, impressed Oprah, driven the Mars Rover, and inspired a John Mayer song? (It wasn't "Your Body is a Wonderland.")
Zach lives by the mantra: when life gives you wheelchair, make lemonade. Whether recounting a valiant childhood attempt to woo Cindy Crawford, encounters with zealous faith healers, or the time he crapped his pants mere feet from Dr. Phil, Zach shares his fumbles with unflinching honesty and characteristic charm. By his thirtieth birthday, Zach had grown into an adult with a career in entertainment, millions of fans, a loving family, and friends who would literally carry him up mountains.
If at Birth You Don't Succeed is a hilariously irreverent and heartfelt memoir about finding your passion and your path even when it's paved with epic misadventure. This is the unlikely but not unlucky story of a man who couldn't safely open a bag of Skittles, but still became a fitness guru with fans around the world. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll fall in love with the Olive Garden all over again, and learn why cerebral palsy is, definitively, "the sexiest of the palsies."
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Comedian and media personality Zach Anner, who was born with cerebral palsy, maps his unlikely path to fame: from viral sensation to host of his own Oprah-produced travel show. Irreverent, silly, and unflappably positive, Anner holds nothing—and we mean, nothing—back, sharing anecdotes about his elementary-school crush on Cindy Crawford, traitorous digestive system, and amazing relationships with friends and family. If at Birth You Don’t Succeed is a very funny and even more inspiring account of turning obstacles into gold.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this wonderful, open collection of essays, Anner, a stand-up comedian, reflects on his 30 years with cerebral palsy. Though the disease has limited Anner's mobility, it's done nothing to dampen his sense of humor and love of the world; he was a breakout favorite on the OWN reality competition Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star, which launched a series of travel shows, and he writes at length about the experience with some intriguing insights. A great deal of Anner's comedy is the peppy, uplifting sort you'd expect from someone who Oprah says "makes want to be a better person," such as his elaborate Olive Garden metaphors for the nature of life, but there's a healthy dose of sobering reality in the mix as well. Some of his most resonant work deals with the influences on his life as a person with a disability: Anner remarks wryly that being expected to act as an ambassador for the disabled "is a tightrope walk, which is hard on four wheels." Maybe so, but with this book, he makes it look easy.
Customer Reviews
Great Memoire
I cant wait for the inevitable biopic based on the book