Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence

by John Hockenberry

John Hockenberry's Moving Violations is one of the most entertaining, provocative, unexpected, outspoken, and occasionally outrageous books in recent memory. It is a story of obstacles--physical, emotional, and psychic--overcome again, and again, and again. Whether riding a mule up a hillside in Iraq surrounded by mud-stained Kurdish refugees, navigating his wheelchair through intractable stretches of Middle Eastern sand, or auditioning to be the first journalist in space, John Hockenberry, ace reporter, is determined not only to bring back the story, but also to prove that nothing can hold him back from death-defying exploits.

However, he will never be a poster boy for a Jerry Lewis telethon. A paraplegic since an auto accident at age nineteen, Hockenberry holds nothing back in this achingly honest, often hilarious chronicle that ranges from the Ayatollah's funeral (where his wheelchair is pushed by a friendly Iranian chanting "Death to all Americans"), to the problems of crip sex and the inaccessibility of the New York City subway system.

In this immensely moving chronicle--so filled with marvelous storytelling that it reads like a novel--John Hockenberry finds that the most difficult journey is the one that begins at home, as he confronts the memories of his beloved one-armed grandfather, and finally meets his institutionalized Uncle Peter, whose very existence was long a secret buried in the family history.

Moving Violations is a sometimes harrowing but ultimately joyful ride.

Genres: Disability, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, War, Autobiography, History

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written in 1995 by an NPR reporter (back when it was good). The writer opens with an account of reporting in the Middle East, then goes back to a 1976 car accident that left him a paraplegic and follows more or less chronologically from there.

While it rambles occasionally, overall it was a fascinating read. From the shocking ableism (people constantly asking why he isn’t killing himself) to crazy situations (visiting the Vietnam War Memorial Wall and being mistaken for a veteran) to reporting on-site during the Gulf War, this is a memoir worth telling.

I sympathized with his attempt to master the piano — one of the few instruments that use feet! But instruments are like wands: You can use any of them, but there’s that one instrument that chooses you, that owns you above all the others.

I can’t believe Mr. Hockenberry was able to walk in off (roll in) the street and get hired as a reporter with no education or training in that area. Well, good for him. There is surprisingly very little politics in this (at least nothing I found terribly controversial); John seeks to show the humanity of all people, and that’s about it.

Language: Some strong language
Sexual Content: Present; a little explicit
Violence/Gore: Some descriptions of injuries from wars and accidents
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: Child refugees starve to death
Other (Triggers): Deadly car accident; ableism

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Doubtless, Jerry Lewis had no clue that his telethon provided a useful low-end benchmark for disability empowerment. For that reason alone it is useful far beyond the millions of dollars it raises for research and cures. Much of Jerry’s money goes into investigating genetic screening to prevent people with MDA from even coming into the world. Jerry’s kids are people in wheelchairs on television raising money to find a way to prevent their ever having been born. When crips watch the telethon, the words “bravery” and “courage” and “heroism” do not come to mind.

More even than finding cures, America’s health-care system loves to come up with genetic tests to prevent anyone from having to drag their useless limbs across the stage. Most crips would need more than an hour to drag themselves any distance anyway. No one would think of having a telethon to raise money to build accessible housing for wheelchair consumers to to find jobs for them. But look for a way to eradicate their experience, or even the possibility of their existence, and you can qualify for the big bucks. Society must be utterly convinced that those lives are not worth living.

Was it the experience of quadriplegia that engendered thoughts of suicide, or did hopelessness come from the experience of being surrounded by people who considered that struggling to live with a disability was, in the end, not worth the effort?

A wheelchair stood out in the crowded floor plan of NPR’s offices. Some people were very helpful, some were just friendly and curious, others wanted you to know that they were sensitive enough to handle a disability at the office, unlike their insensitive colleagues. These were the people you wanted to avoid. One famous NPR reporter was far too progressive to simply pass me in the hallway. When I rolled by he would dramatically flatten himself against the wall and make a big point of (humorously, he thought) getting out of my way. Another favorite gesture was to pretend he was a matador and wave an imaginary cape at me as though I were a bull. Once he asked if everyone did something like that when I rolled by. On his face was the expression of absolutely certainty that this was the way to openly deal with my disability, to bring it out of the closet and make it a part of the workplace. “No,” I replied, “you are the only one.”

The idea that humiliation is some capital crime of the spirit is a fiction. The sentences we hand down for losing control and succumbing to physical limits in life are arbitrary acts of self-loathing. All human beings have bodies that define their existence and which can veto the best-laid plans of the mind and soul. We are taught to view our physical life as the edicts from some committee of biological saboteurs who were once our allies in youth, but as we age or physically change, only conspire to depose the mind from its thrown as President for Life.
Physical limits are a natural binding force in society, bringing people together. The arrogance of presuming that physical limits are somehow in opposition to life and to be hidden away is tragic. When people succeed “despite their physical limitations,” just as when crips “have the courage to go on despite their disability,” they are celebrated by the group. But when people’s physical limits become obvious, they expect to be shunted and left to their solitary self-hatred. It should be just the other way around. Separating oneself through personal triumph over some physical limitation is an act of isolation that repudiates the influences of family and community; openly acknowledging limitations binds and draws people together, as an emblem and reminder of just how similar we all are.

We started our national history trying to escape the divisions and hatreds of the lands we all came from and we have ended up creating our own. In the game of freedom fighting, I have scored very high in my life, but now I find I can’t stop playing. Just as America can’t stop insisting that it’s still number one, I sit in my wheelchair and dare someone to say the wrong thing. Inside, the soul that would be free churns in a turmoil of bondage, anger, and servitude, like the violence on America’s urban streets.

Though this is a nation of suspicious enclaves and ignorant spectators, I have come to believe that the experiences of struggle that define the peoples of America, and ultimately this world, can be shared. We are taught to believe that knowing what others have been through is impossible in our rainbow coalition of American enclaves (members only need apply). With hate and suspicion, each group claims that no one outside its enclave can know their experience, and that the indecipherable walls around each group grow higher. The T-shirt says: “It’s a Black Thing.” The codes of experience are like closely guarded family secrets where the key to the code has been thrown away. As a white person I understand the feeling of not knowing the code, as a person in a wheelchair I know the experience of selfishly guarding the code and punishing those outsiders who don’t know it.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely stunning 275-page book that unfortunately comes in at a merely-very-good 367 pages.

Okay, okay, that's a very glib way to sum this up, and it does a disservice to Hockenberry's memoir, which is full of guts, truth, insight, and candor. I do absolutely recommend it, with very few qualifications, and one of those qualifications is that it can't quite decide if it wants to be a recounting of Hockenberry's personal (emotional and physical) struggle with his disability, a disability-rights manifesto, or a meditation on US foreign policy and how Americans are treated abroad. While it's entirely possible to do all three in the same book, the "glue" holding each bit together is cracking a little; sometimes Hockenberry gets lost in tangents and could benefit from some reining in.

John Hockenberry is a reporter (at the time of this book, he was working for NPR), and has been a paraplegic since an auto accident at the age of 19. He spent several years as an NPR correspondent in the Middle East, including during the Gulf War. (Among the best parts of this book are the parts where he talks about how an American in a wheelchair is treated in the Middle East; that alone is worth the price of admission.)

I'd have liked to see more of his inner struggles and a little less of his struggle against the (mostly-pre-ADA) world he moves through, but those are my own issues, not issues with the book itself. (Although I will admit to cheering him on when he admits that he used to carry around a Swiss Army knife to puncture the tires of NYC cabbies who refused to take him and the wheelchair. Anyone who's ever been tempted to key a car that's illegally parked in the handicapped spaces -- not that I would ever (publicly) admit to having done that -- will be rooting for him in that moment.)

Even when Hockenberry gets bogged down in trying to make Grand Statements in often-flowery language, there's still a core of honesty in this one that makes it worth the read. Don't let my vague dissatisfaction with some elements of it keep you from picking it up -- this really is fabulous.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

stop feeling lucky that you still have use of your legs and start feeling lucky to be alive and thinking. hockenberry, paralyzed from the T-5 vertebra down after surviving a car accident at age 19, is intelligent and wise, determined and contrarian, real and awe-inspiring. his memoir takes you through rehab, romance, broadcasting, war, and more. if i owned 1000 copies of this book i would give one to everyone i know.

[ambyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best book I've read this year. I don't even remember why I picked this one up--I had no idea who Hockenberry was, being maybe a little young to have caught his NPR heydey--but whoever recommended it in passing or left it sitting out on display where I could see it, thank you.

There's a lot going on here that I could talk about, whether it's the blunt description of how America treats its disabled citizens (often poorly; this should come as no surprise) or the rueful ruminations on war journalists' obsessive pursuit of the "center" of a war. There were chapters that had me cackling hysterically and passages that had me furtively wiping tears away so no one else on the bus would see. There were also a lot of anecdotes and asides that left me deeply, deeply angry.

It's an anger the author clearly shares. And I think what I appreciate most about this book is the way he portrays that anger, how he reveals that it's often justified and sometimes not, sometimes useful and sometimes a hindrance to his own efforts, and how all those categories mix and overlap. I've been trained to think of anger as a bad thing, a destructive force that should be fought against, except, perhaps, occasionally, when it's justified and can be harnessed on behalf of others. But Hockenberry shows clearly that even justified anger can be harmful and even senseless anger can be a useful goad, and sometimes (often) it can be both or all of the above at the same time.

And no matter what its cause or ultimate effect, it's a feeling, and a powerful one, that can't be just locked away and denied.

But if that's too heavy for you, I leave you with this thought. Say you had let yourself in to your ex's apartment under the mistaken belief that she might be interested in getting back together. Say you had fallen asleep on her bed. Say you were woken by the sound of her--and her beau of the moment--entering the apartment, unaware of your presence and clearly intending to make extensive, energetic use of the bed. You're mere minutes from discovery. What do you do?

I guarantee it's not what Hockenberry did. Oh, my god. I thought I was going to fall off the bench from laughing.

So read this book because it says important things, things about war and disability and human nature at large. But also read it because it's funny as hell.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I had heard John Hockenberry on NPR but had no idea he was a paraplegic or had lived in Lane County Oregon during the late 70's and early 80's. I learned a lot about the issues facing someone using a wheelchair in the most entertaining manner. Questions I'd never thought to ask were answered. I also loved the descriptions of events that took place in an area I know well. Eugene, Springfield, Florence, Fall Creek, Oregon Country Fair and the Pacific Ocean are all described in a way locals can particularly appreciate.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give 3 1/2 stars I would.

[Sharon Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strange accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike puts John Hockenberry, age 19, in a wheelchair. But it is like he is born to be in a wheelchair. He's not depressed or discouraged about being a paraplegic, but jokes about it and goes about proving that the chair does not matter.

Mastering the chair, exploring different strategies for curbs and workable routes to where he's going (long before the Americans with Disabilities Act) keeps him busy. His exploits in the Chicago subway/el system are both sad, and funny. Anyone who's been challenged by a car with stick shift will enjoy his stories about driving a Land Rover.

One good story is about his work as a freelance reporter at an NPR station in Eugene, Oregon... NPR in Washington D.C. thought Oregon and the whole northwest was a real outback. The station became a favorite of theirs when Mt. St. Helens erupted, and a geologist employed there gave a daily report which was sent out nationwide. A year after the big eruption, the mountain had a small eruption, and Hockenberry wanted to call it in before the 5 PM deadline. He was in a rather remote area at the time, an area where phone booths had folding doors and a concrete step in front. He could not get inside. After an hour and 50 minutes he gave up looking for a pay phone. He entered a school, where long distance calls were thought to require a fortune, and actually had to ask the principal for permission. His call was 1/2 hour late. It was the first time in 12 years that he was late. The following day his editor called to find out why he had let him down. Explanation given, the editor said "Don't let it happen again." Until then only he, Hockenberry, knew what was possible to do in a wheelchair, now others knew it too.

The later chapters are about his time as a foreign correspondent, in Palestine, Israel, Morocco, and Somalia. Somalia was the only place he was fearful, because two boys with machine guns wanted his wheelchair for a friend who could not walk, wanted it bad enough to kill him.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the Christian landmarks [in the Middle East] are dormant shrines to old arguments between popes and Orthodox patriarchs and caliphs having little to do with the time or place Jesus grew up and died. There are a handful of historically dubious places for Christian pilgrims. The dingy grottoes, tombs, and street corners where Jesus was thrown, dragged, bled, drank some vinegar, was condemned and then nailed to a post one spring day 2,000 years ago are mobbed with tourists and souvenir salesmen today.

"The Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself is a sprawling trophy from the Byzantine Empire administered grumpily by representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Seventeen centuries ago they argued whether Christ had three aspects or just one, whether he was rich or poor, whether he needed a spokesman or just a book. Today the same churches argue over who will fix the leaky roof over the place where an angel allegedly told the first Christians, 'Seek ye not the living among the dead.' It was the last time that advice was heeded.

"Among the millions of pilgrims in Jerusalem, it was the Christians who came looking for God as if to confirm a juicy rumor they had heard. Christians have been trolling and casting for God since before the crucifixion. Just as Jesus found some sympathetic anglers right off the bat and convinced them to join the coming Christian hordes, Christians approach the question of finding God with the gusto of a fisherman working a trout stream. Each denomination has its own strategy for hooking the big one. Catholics go for the shiny lures with lots of ugly dangling hooks. Protestants like live bait." (From Moving Violations)

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving Violations is the memoir of a man who is living life on 11 despite an auto accident he was involved in at age 19 in which he incurred spinal injuries that left him paralyzed from his chest down. The book was written 19 years later, when he is 38 and has lived half of his life as a walking person, and half in a wheelchair. His accident was in 1976, before the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect, and he came across many, many barriers to success, but he smashed through them -- not without some anger and bitterness. He never let his disability get in the way of what he wanted, and he seemed to always want to take the most challenging route. I felt equal parts exasperation and admiration as I read the essay-like chapters of his life story that told the briefest amount about his life before the accident and most detailed his adventures after, including his jobs, family, personal life, and medical details. He worked in radio, including becoming an NPR foreign correspondence, and later a TV news journalist. He visited war-torn countries and regions in crises, including Israel and Palestine, Iraq, and Somalia. He's a good writer and really lays it all out without holding back. He's a complex person with a lot of motivation and drive, and a lot of stubbornness and anger, and a lot of compassion too. I learned so much reading this book. It's been 19 additional years since it was published -- I hope John Hockenberry is still finding adventures that satisfy him but I also hope he's found a bigger measure of peace too in the years that have passed.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was previously unaware of this book until it was included as part of an Occupational Therapy course in which I was one of the instructors. 'Moving Violations...' was assigned to my learning group as part of a disability memoir assignment; encouraging students to delve deeper into the lived experience of someone living with a perceived handicap. In many ways this book is a resounding sucess (considering this objective), and in many ways a dismal failure.

While Hockenberry provides many enclaves into the mind of a man suddenly becoming paraplegic at the age of 19, allowing for a great study for emerging Occupational Therapists; it is the general reader in me that was highly disappointed with this work. Hockenberry manages to be inspirational some of time, while remaining rather unlikable most of the time. The work is too long and there is too heathly a dose of his political positions, thoughts on the Middle East conflicts, and judgemental rants that distract from a narrative that could be much more accessible.

Of note: The reading time was extended due to the writing of an extensive outline. I plan on teaching the course again, and did not want to have to read the entire book once more.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating (though occasionally rambling) memoir from John Hockenberry, radio journalist, Middle East correspondent, and paraplegic since a automobile accident at age nineteen.

There's a hell of a lot packed into this book. It's a personal memoir of an American journalist's experiences in Israel and Iran; it's the vivid personal history of a man with a physical disability. This is a reminder not to forget that individuals are individuals the world over; there are accounts of the widely differing ways a single family can react to different disabilities. It's insider's view of crip culture that simultaneously scolds the able-bodied for staring at the same times it screams at them not to ignore what's right in front of their eyes.

It's no wonder the account is tangled at times, skipping back and forth between topics and eras. But how else to relate such a complex life? The contrast between Hockenberry's smooth radio voice (which I knew from NPR before reading this book) and the furious energy that laces this book is remarkable -- and makes for a highly recommended memoir.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a spur-of-the-moment, used bookstore purchase, and I'm glad I got it. It's got some wonderful poignant moments and his radio background helps his writing make you feel like you're actually there. Like any good radio journalist, he paints the pictures with his words.

Reading about the first Gulf War from the perspective of today is always interesting. Add in his insights into handicapped life in America (and its parallels to minority life in America) and it's just a fascinating book to read.

I think the most telling part, for me at least, was when he talked about how, given the chance, he probably wouldn't change it so he was never paralyzed...according to him, for the most part, middle-class white America just kind of observes life and the world. Since his accident, he's been forced to engage on a whole different level he might never had had the chance to experience.

Anyway, definitely fits the description of a "good read."

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Hockenberrry’s memoir of his life since the car accident that put him in a wheelchair. He’s an amazing guy. Biology? Or environment? That pesky question we can never answer. I was continually surprised by some of Hockenberry’s attitudes and pronouncements about how “crips” think and feel, so different than the cultural group-think imagines. The other thing in this book that surprised me was some of Hockenberry’s motivations for the things he did; they were completely unexpected. And I think that is a good lesson to apply to fictional characters as well. Despite the psycho-babble that permeates our culture, people’s motivations are still unique and not necessarily transparent to observation. Given life’s complexity, a person’s motivations should be surprising. Fictional characters must have that same reality, should continually surprise.

[Kim D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another NPR-driven selection. I was loaned this book by a volunteering friend from Sun Sounds. The book is the memoir of John Hockenberry, journalist, and his life after a car accident in his 20s left him paralyzed. Although "confined" to a wheelchair, John has traveled as a war correspondent, journalist, broadcaster, and husband/father. A very inspiring story of moving through life while adapting (not compromising or compensating) for a disability. (The chapter about stalking his former girlfriend and ending up under her bed while she entertains a new suitor still makes me snicker...and wince.)

[Jessica Zoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that the book was witty, amusing, and interesting. I appreciated his perspective on the day to day logistics of living with a disability and on able bodied people's assumptions / behavior.

However, the rest of my book club were quite angry at the book, Mr. Hockenberry & me (it was my pick). None of the others could even bring themselves to even finish it and they blame the book for their continuing fear of offering assistance to people with disabilities.

It made for an interesting discussion anyway.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times he wore me out with his anger, but who am I to judge? Hockenberry made me think a lot about what it would be like to lose my own mobility and how would I deal with that? I had a hard time placing when the 'handicap' became visual in our daily lives. I was pleased to find out he have five children. Interesting to read how Americans compare to the rest of the world in treating people with disabilities.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting and useful books I have read. Soon after I first read this book, my adult son fell and sustained a severe spinal cord injury. I was not nearly as clueless and I could have been about how to begin to help him adjust. It is a funny and touching book about the life of the author, also.

[mcg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book used- I saw it on the shelf and thought oh, I know who that guy is ... I had no expectations for the book and was really surprised when I found myself unable to put it down. The writing is at times emotional, at times matter of fact, but always interesting. Hockenberry has had a very full life to this point- and I am glad that I had a chance to read about it.

[Debbie Blicher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carried by the powerful voice of its narrator, this book kicks ass. This guy's got brains, balls, and wheels. Remember that Hockenberry is a journalist, not a book author, so the structure is episodic and often digressive. Great book for anyone approaching a new life challenge. Outrageous, informative, uplifting. Five stars for content, 3.5 for craft.

[Judy Diedrichs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book definitely changed the way I looked at the world. Fifteen years later I still sometimes find myself viewing the world through the eyes of someone in a wheelchair. This book was very funny. The chapter where he hides under his girlfriend's bed had me rolling on the floor.

[John Jolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great book by a former NPR correspondant. This was Hockenberry's biography starting at the time of his spine injury up through his covering the first Iraq war, all in a wheelchair. Despite the subject, the book is not that sad, quite funny at many time points.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart wrenching recollection without feeling sorry for himself, this memoir is one of my favorites. Not only for his precise and to the point writing, but for his honesty and ability to face his short comings.

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hockenberry, a former "All Things Considered" host and long time NPR reporter, is "paralyzed from the nipples down," yet nonetheless succeeds as a reporter in Middle East during the early nineties. Insightful and amusing stuff, people.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently reading this book. Honestly, it deserves more than three stars. I gave it this rating though because I'm finding it very put down-able. So far what I've read is really thought provoking.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has some language and some sex so be forewarned. However, this is the best book I've read in a while. It's about an NPR reporter who is a paraplegic, and it talks about his accident, his disability, and his reporting assignments. Loved it.

[Ritu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very unique book... The author is often extremely verbose using 50 words when should only use 5. But, the experiences that this man has had are unbelievable! Many times you can't help but laugh at the craziness of his predicament. Read it, but skim the first 150 pages :)

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First introduced to this book by the author himself. I heard him speak at an AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association) conference and bought his book. Definately recommend reading his moving story.

[Kathleenmanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the various stories of his struggles with paraplegia, family stories, and political stories about traveling as a news correspondent--all with his musings on connections and what it all means. He's very funny and self-deprecating and amazing how he didn't let his disability hold him back.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this for class! This was an interesting book. Parts of it were very heavy reading and harder to get through than others. I am not sure I would have chose to read this if it had not been assigned.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. The book is very easy to read and hilariously written. At the same time it provides a perspective from a paraplegic and made me think about how someone in a wheelchair looks at the world.