Twitch And Shout: A Touretter’s Tale

by Lowell Handler

The remarkable memoir of a Touretter’s journey of self-discovery—now back in print! Lowell Handler has Tourette’s syndrome, a disorder characterized by exaggerated facial tics, sudden jerking movements of the body and limbs, and explosive public outbursts, usually in the form of expletives and racial epithets. Although he is a successful and acclaimed photojournalist, Handler has often seen himself as an outsider—a social outcast.  With courage and candor, he recalls the difficulties he suffered growing up, the confusion he experienced when doctors misdiagnosed his bizarre behavior as a psychological aberration, and finally how, restless and despairing, he embarked on a quest for answers.  

In Twitch and Shout , Handler sets out, camera in hand, on a journey through less than savory parts of America.  From a transvestite bar in Tampa to a flophouse in New Orleans to a community health center in New York, he meets a variety of people who, like himself, don’t conform to the standards of conventional society. With a keen eye for detail and an acute sense of humor, this memoir perfectly captures the unique and unforgettable life of a Touretter.
 

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Psychology, Mental Health, Biography Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Lowell Handler is the star and associate producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS television documentary Twitch & Shout. With the film, Handler reached a mainstream audience and set the stage for his 1998 memoir, Twitch & Shout: A Touretter’s Tale, published by Penguin.

Handler is a also a photographer whose pictures have appeared in Life, Newsweek, Elle, U.S. News & World Report, The (London) Sunday Times Magazine, Hippocrates, The New York Review of Books, and The New York Times.

His second book Crazy and Proud is the inside story of an inner-city shelter for transient, mentally-ill women. Handler was hired as a recreation worker to teach photography to this hidden population.

Lowell Handler lives with his wife, writer Jane Smith, in upstate New York, and is on the faculty at Dutchess Community College.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a nephew with Tourette's. He's very annoying - he's lazy, always seems to feel entitled and is alternately charming because it suits him and really lets loose because that's how he feels right then. And he gets away with it all because he has Tourette's and no-one feels they can say anything to him. This is somewhat the opposite experience of Lowell Handler who suffers a lot from bullying, rude remarks and the effects of giving people a generally bad impression because of his Tourette's.

It was interesting reading of his journey from the unhappy child who didn't fit in to the man who travelled through America with Oliver Sacks and made a film, the award winning documentary of Tourette's called, the same as his book, Twitch and Shout and then to his years as a social worker caring for the recently-homeless with mental problems. All conducted in a haze of what might be for most of us, excessive pot smoking, but for him is self-medication.

My nephew is a lovely lad, bright, social and good fun (when he chooses) and just as Lowell Handler does, he loves the company of other Touretters where he no longer stands out and so they both go to Touretters' conferences. We dread it when my nephew gets back from one though, he picks up so many extra tics from the people he's been with and they can take days to wear off. Lots more kicks and coughs and twitchy shoulders and whatever else took his neurological fancy. Lowell notes the same thing. Odd these brain disorders that are not psychologically-based but express themselves as if they were. Just how does the brain decide, 'oooh look at that tic, I just must do it and right now'.

Lovely book. Not deep, not inspirational, but the reader will draw quite a lot of insights into the condition from it.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't originally going to read this this month, but I needed something for The Challenge Factory's Smart is Sexy nonfiction challenge in the medical genre. Originally, I started reading Ghost Boy: , but then I needed something for Game Night's Life Socks challenge that met the criteria for this book instead. As it turned out, Twitch and Shout didn't actually work for that challenge either, but I was already more than halfway through the book by then, and I did still need something for the Smart is Sexy challenge.

So however it happened, I really enjoyed Lowell Handler's perspective. As someone who wants to minor in journalism, and who has been thinking a lot recently about my own cancer experience and how that follows me and how I work against it in my own life. I'm trying to do a photo project on various childhood cancer survivors and reading about the way Handler got started helped me think about that in new ways. I love that he found work as a journalist despite not being able to write well (in his opinion), and I feel his love of the camera and his obsession with telling his and others' stories through photography.

I enjoyed the writing style a lot too. While the story wasn't completely in a time-ordered sequence, Handler also didn't jump around too much, unlike some essay collections I've read. It was exactly the right pace and was easy enough to put down when I needed to, although never boring.

Many of the books I've read that were written in the 1990s didn't really impress me, but this was different. I feel like Lowell Handler's story and journey can resonate with everyone whether they are going through an illness or not. I'm really glad I found this story and it is definitely something I will read again when I need inspiration.

[ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intentionally hilarious, fascinating and inspiring-- if not in a life-affirming way, at least in a way that could produce interesting dance choreography. Tourettic twins syncopating tics...Tourettic surgeons and orchestra conductors... Includes great observations of friendship with Oliver Sacks. The writing style has some spasmodic and impatient traits, and the reader's constantly reminded of the immense struggle it must have taken to get a page down. Kind of like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"...the reader feels some sense of guilt for gobbling up pages that took Herculean effort to produce even in their simplicity. But well worth gobbling.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice look at how it must feel to have Tourette syndrome. Lowell wasn't aware that he had a condition until later in life. As a young bot his parents and doctor's thought he was acting out and would grow out of it. Tourette's was unknown even to the doctors back then. After he was diagnosed he delved deep into accepting his Tourette's and making it work for him out in the world. he didn't let it stop him. His movements and sounds could be disruptive and cause people to stare or even get mad. Lowell spent his adult life as a photographer documenting Tourette's. He tried to show people who might not know about it that it does exist and it's a neurological disorder. He traveled with Oliver Sacks, who has written and studied Tourette's for years finding more people with the disease to interview. Finding people like himself helped Lowell to not feel alone. Getting a glimpse of what living with Tourette's is like for Lowell was inspiring.

[Anastasia Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found myself often re-reading sentences due to sentence structure and a lack of adequate punctuation. There was also a distinct lack of clarity on the timeline of events described in the book, which I had assumed was linear but was actually not. I also found it...interesting...that the author made note of when he found women with Tourette's attractive and I have a hard time thinking of why it was relevant at all to the book.

Maybe it's because I'm reading this book 25 years after it was written and society has changed drastically since then, but I can't say I found the substance of the book to be any deeper than how we already understand the way society treats those who don't confirm.

[Roxie Baumgartner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not everyday that you get to learn what it is like to live in someone else's shoes. This book does just that. Lowell Handler explains what life is like with Tourette's Syndrome; from the time he was a child, to being diagnosed, and learning to live his every day life. Handler travels the country trying to find some normality in himself, and along the way he finds people who understand what he is going through, and also meets others who don't necessarily accept him. He learns that sometimes, the people who don't accept you, fear you or what you have. Handler also realized you can't please everyone, so just do what you love. Did he ever find acceptance, or was he rejected more often than not? I wanted to read this book because the idea of having an uncontrollable disorder intrigued me. Anyone who likes learning about uncommon disorders should read this book. It really digs deep into the day-to-day life of a person with Tourette's. The intended audience would probably be from the teen to adult range because the book has some bad language. I would give this book 3 stars.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a good deal of interesting material here, the information about people living with Tourette Syndrome is fascinating. Handler himself is not fascinating at all. He may be a great guy, I hate to sound mean, but if he is interesting beyond his neuro-atypicality, he doesn't let the reader know. Most of the memoir portion of this is disjointed and/or boring. Handler's discussion of his relationships with women, including but not limited to his ex-wife, is sad and boring in equal measure. He raises what might be interesting info about his relationship to his family and to friends, but never explores those relationships. As a writer Handler is a good photographer. There is material here that is worth reading, you just have to slog through a lot of other stuff. If you have a strong interest in Tourette this might be worth a read, otherwise skip it.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting point of view of someone who has Tourette's syndrome. Very honest and connecting.
Everyone feels rejected at one point in their life but it takes a lot to accept and transform that feeling to triumph.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man with tourettes tells what it is like to live with Tourettes - anyone that has a student with tourettes should read it...enlightening.

[Sandy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I blogged a review here: http://imponderabilia.blogspot.com/20...

[Alexander Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful look into the life of a person with Tourette Syndrome.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Photographer and Touretter Lowell Handler talks about his life before and after diagnosis, his process for photographing others, and his mission as a photojournalist.