Hot Cripple: An Incurable Smart-ass Takes on the Health Care System and Lives to Tell the Tale [NOOK Book]

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Overview

From Prada to poverty-one woman's harrowing and hilarious journey

Ex-model Hogan Gorman was living the typical New York working actor's life-auditions and classes by day, waitressing and fending off handsy customers by night-when a wise (or just crazy) friend convinced her to ask the universe for a change. And she got one-coming at her at forty miles per hour. Hit by a car and suffering debilitating injuries, and with no health insurance, the fashionista attempts to bounce back into her (thrift store-purchased) Jimmy Choos even as she deals with short-term memory loss, stalker ambulance drivers, trying to stay vegan on ...

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More About This Book

Overview

From Prada to poverty-one woman's harrowing and hilarious journey

Ex-model Hogan Gorman was living the typical New York working actor's life-auditions and classes by day, waitressing and fending off handsy customers by night-when a wise (or just crazy) friend convinced her to ask the universe for a change. And she got one-coming at her at forty miles per hour. Hit by a car and suffering debilitating injuries, and with no health insurance, the fashionista attempts to bounce back into her (thrift store-purchased) Jimmy Choos even as she deals with short-term memory loss, stalker ambulance drivers, trying to stay vegan on food stamps, crazy judges, hot doctors, and unsympathetic government workers.

Inspired by her acclaimed one-woman show, this is a bitingly funny and keenly observed account of the cracks in our medical and social welfare system and how one woman's resilience combined with a generous dollop of humor helped her fight her way to recovery.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
Life was going along just fine for ex-model and aspiring actress Gorman until the day she was hit by a car while crossing a New York City street in 2004. At the time working as an uninsured cocktail waitress, she found herself navigating the murky waters of the American health-care system before the reforms of 2010. While her life was turned upside down and inside out, she learned firsthand what many Americans had already experienced in the search for affordable health care. With the help of her mother, who flew in whenever needed—whether for surgery or another round of doctor visits—Gorman has lived to tell the tale. Her brutally honest descriptions of her experiences are sharp and detailed, written in a down-to-earth style. This book is based on Gorman's one-woman show of the same name, which she performed at the New York Fringe Festival in 2008 (four years after her close encounter with a car's windshield) and for which she won the festival's Outstanding Actor Award. VERDICT An essential read for those seeking a personal perspective on health care.—Claire Franek, Muhlenberg Cty. P.L., Greenville, KY
Kirkus Reviews
The funny, moving story of the blue-eyed, blond model/actress who became the unlikely poster girl for the plight of the poor and uninsured in America after she was struck by a car in New York City street in 2004. Though Gorman admits that she's not the kind of woman who typically elicits sympathy from most folks, the author's tale of woe following her near-death experience is so tragic and compelling, it doesn't matter one bit that she never once lets her coarse, sarcastic armor slip. She may be the furthest thing from Snow White (more like the "witch-bitch"), but her harrowing experience grappling with a twisted spine, disinterested welfare hacks and outrageous court officers rendered her so broken and vulnerable, readers will root for this unrepentantly bitchy, foul-mouthed fighter. In fact, Gorman's obvious toughness in dealing with her suddenly penniless situation following her accident only underscores the bleakness of the whole affair. Even amid the desperation, love pulsates just as powerfully as the pain in this candid account of one out-of-work woman's season in uninsured hell. It's a saccharine-free yarn, yet Gorman's relationships with her mother (an ex-nun) and her former modeling partner are both touching and profound. As is often the case, the author only discovered who her true friends were after she suffered her accident and resulting health-care nightmare. Ultimately, Gorman succeeds in not only telling her own triumphant story, but also illuminating the countless problems with the broken American health-care and justice systems. The outcome of her slam-dunk court case is nothing less than astounding, and so is her resurrection. A remarkable, emotional journey through unrelenting pain--and laughter.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781101560709
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 3/6/2012
  • Sold by: Penguin Group
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 46,130
  • File size: 311 KB

Meet the Author

Hogan Gorman is an actress and writer living in Manhattan. She received the 2008 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for her one-woman stage production of Hot Cripple. Visit her website at www.hotcripple.com.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 Be Careful What You Wish for 9

2 Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen... Now That's Just Cruel 26

3 Marijuana Mama and Mary Jane 50

4 Sex: The Final Frontier 67

5 As If Being a Blonde Isn't Challenging Enpugh 81

6 This Is My Pee Cup 96

7 Paris Hilton, the Food Stamp Vegan 115

8 Crazy Juice, My Hip-Hop Knight, and Labeled "Disabled" 133

9 There Is No Fault; I'm Just the Public Assistance Crier 157

10 A Girl's Guide to What to Wear to the Welfare Office 177

11 Blanche DuLaw 194

12 Gandhi Land Diaries 219

Afterthought 247

Acknowledgments 257

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 5 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 10, 2012

    Please read for all of our sakes

    Must read for anyone who thinks this could never happen to me! I wish I had paid more for the book to contribute to Hogans continuing life journey. Our circumstances are so similar. YES a food stamp receipient has the gall to own a nook!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 26, 2012

    Enjoyable Read with Meaning

    I really enjoyed this book. The author's story is compelling, and her story telling style is easy to read. I was *SO* impressed by her personal strength. She was able to fight pain, set goals, and push through. Very inspiring and educational.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 19, 2012

    This book made me thank god that i could stand up and stretch af

    This book made me thank god that i could stand up and stretch after i finished reading it.. Well done, establishing a quick camaraderie with the reader as she tells the tale.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
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