Hanging by a Thread

by Ronald W. Hull

Ron Hull was paralyzed during spinal surgery in 1963. Able to walk with atrophied hands and arms, a hand splint enabled Ron to write and return to college with help from a rehab program. Ron's life changed dramatically but he was determined and, with good grades, got a fellowship to Stanford and a job in industry. A doctorate and 45-year career in higher education while the paralysis and discrimination continued to increase is his story.

630 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2014

Reviews

[Eva Pasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Top-Notch Autobiography

The significance of the title for Ronald W. Hull’s autobiography, Hanging by a Thread, is made quite clear on the first page of chapter 1 when the author alludes to his twin brother’s college dorm room decoration of a grille from his junked '69 Austin America suspended from the ceiling by fishing line, pointed toward him like the Sword of Damacles while he lay under it in bed. “Now, it is I hanging from the thread. And I don't sleep much thinking of it breaking and my body falling into that numb nothingness that comes with a lack of communication between the brain and the body, that point where I will still think, but be unable to act on the thoughts.”

Dr. Hull quickly points out the purpose in writing his life story, and he enriches this purpose at the conclusion of a book worth reading, when he states, “After a lifetime of concerted effort to act and live as normally as possible, in spite of the subtle discrimination by those who only pitied and excluded me, I feel the continued need to prove that nothing, especially the ignorance of others, need keep me from a fully productive and fulfilling life. I don't want admiration for what I've done in spite of my disability, I want admiration for what I've done.”

One of several threads of reader admiration is woven from the author’s motivation, persistence, and dedication to tell his story which came to fruition typed by one finger from 1992 – 1998, revisited in 2001, and again in 2006. Other threads garnering my admiration are those of the author’s painstaking accuracy and minute details so necessary for the reader to gain an understanding of how his paralysis affected, but never deterred him from succeeding academically and professionally. It did not limit his desire to travel and explore inaccessible places with tight squeezes on rough terrain either.

I’ll venture to say the devil is in the details for bringing this work to the forefront of autobiographies. I recall a chapter where the reader learns just what was involved to get ready for work in the morning from getting out of bed, showering, getting dressed, and preparing breakfast.

From cover to cover, you sense the author’s adventurous spirit, his nobility, strong work ethic, a keen mind with forward thinking on political and environmental matters, and most of all—his triumphs in the face of adversity. Long after reading Hull’s autobiography, I’ll picture him tooling around from coast to coast in that behemoth of a Monte Carlo of his. When you read the book, which I highly recommend, you’ll see what I mean.