The me in the mirror

the long version

Writer, activist and artist Connie Panzarino was born in 1947 with the rare disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type III, formerly called Amytonia Congenita. Throughout a childhood filled with both pain and joy, she strove to define herself: "I knew I was different. Now I had a name for the difference, like being Italian or Jewish. I was an Amytonia. I didn't understand if that meant that I would never walk, or if all it meant was lack of muscle tone. I didn't know that most children with this disease die before they're five years old." In this deeply moving and eloquent memoir, Connie Panzarino describes her decades of struggle and triumph, her relationships with family members and long-time lover Ron Kovic (author of Born on the Fourth of July), her eventual turn to lesbianism, and her years of pioneering work in the disability rights movement. Filled with spirit, passion and defiance, The Me In The Mirror tells the story of a remarkable life.