No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability

by Francine Falk-Allen

Overview

2022 Foreword Indies Finalist in Travel

As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with.

In No Spring Chicken, Francine Falk-Allen—a polio survivor who knows a thing or two about living with a disability—offers her own take on how to navigate the complications aging brings with equanimity (and a sense of humor). The handbook is divided into three sections: Part I is a jaunt through accessible travel pleasures and pitfalls in several parts of the world; Part II addresses the adaptation people who love a handicapped or aging person could make in order to have a lighter, more mutually rewarding relationship with him or her, as well as advice for physically challenged and aging persons themselves regarding self-care, exercise, pain management, healthcare, and more; and Part III discusses the challenges, rewards and logistics of engaging with groups of people who share similar issues.

Accessible and wryly funny, No Spring Chicken is a fun and informative guide to living your best and longest life—whatever your physical challenges, and whatever your age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647421205
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Francine Falk-Allen was born in Los Angeles and has lived nearly all of her life in northern California. As a former art major who got a BA in managerial accounting and ran her own business for thirty-three years, she has always craved creative outlets. Over the years, this has taken the form of singing and recording with various groups, painting, and writing songs, poetry, and essays, some of which have been published. Falk-Allen facilitates a polio survivors’ group in Marin County, and also a Meetup writing group, Just Write Marin County. She was the polio representative interviewed in a PBS/Nobel Prize Media film, The War Against Microbes. Falk-Allen resides in Marin County with her husband, Richard Falk. She loves mystery, and historical novels, and captivating biography and memoir, movies, music, pool exercise, the outdoors, travel, hanging out with good friends, lots of British tea, and a little champagne now and then.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Part I The Wild Handicapper Flies the Coop

Chapter 1 Travelin' Girl 1

Chapter 2 The Wild Handicapper at Large 13

Chapter 3 North, South, East, West-US and Mexico 36

Chapter 4 Getting Outdoors in the USA 49

Chapter 5 Capital City and The Big Easy-Plus Way up North, Eh? 62

Chapter 6 Dear to My Heart: United Kingdom and Ireland 73

Chapter 7 Farther Afield-India, Egypt, Israel 88

Chapter 8 Scary Stories! 99

Part II My Mom Has Changed (or I Have!)

Chapter 9 Taming the Wild Handicapper (Unruffling Feathers) 119

Chapter 10 Pain (Squawk!) 141

Chapter 11 Nesting, Pecking, and Perching with Your Wild Handicapper 156

Chapter 12 Managing Doctors 171

Chapter 13 How to Use Assistive Devices 180

Chapter 14 Staying Upright in the Nest, Sweet Nest 199

Chapter 15 How a Healthy Bird Behaves (Plus, Tendon Pain and Rehab) 208

Chapter 16 Care and Feeding of the Wild Handicapper 218

Chapter 17 Like a Duck Takes to Water: Healing through Pool Therapy 252

Chapter 18 Different-Sized Feet, and Bracing 269

Part III Participating in Community

Chapter 19 Groupie-Finding your Flock 277

Chapter 20 Activism and Advocacy 291

Epilogue: Always Leave Them Laughing 305

Resources for Readers 307

Bibliography and Suggested Reading 318

Editorial Reviews

04/26/2021

Falk-Allen follows up Not a Poster Child with an enthusiastic if rambling collection of stories from her life as a world traveler and polio survivor. Falk-Allen’s approach to enjoying travel as a “wild handicapper”—in her case, as someone who walks with an assistive device and has limited stamina—focuses on planning and understanding what to expect upon arrival at one’s destination, particularly researching accessibility options, packing light, and sticking to a budget. She offers plenty of colorful accounts of places she’s visited—Egypt, India, Ireland, and Israel among them—though her travel advice is based on her own onetime experiences, some up to 40 years ago, such as her hotel and restaurant recommendations from a trip to New Delhi in the 1980s. The book’s second part flips erratically between advice for caregivers of aging parents and for aging readers themselves concerning ambulatory difficulties, dealing with changes in one’s capabilities, and developing a partnership between the caregiver and the person needing assistance: “being positive but realistic and, most of all, determined and disciplined can reap unexpected rewards.” It’s all a bit shaggy, but the author’s infectious sense of adventure will appeal to those struggling with aging and disability. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Best Books of August 2021, starred review, Kirkus Reviews
2022 Foreword Indies Finalist in Travel

2021 Foreword Indies Finalist in Travel

“Part of her book is designed to encourage all of her readers—disabled or not—to go out and explore the wider world, hence the amount of practical advice in these pages… She looks squarely at the additional challenges handicapped people face when traveling and offers exuberant encouragement. A fun, spirited book…”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Falk-Allen follows up Not a Poster Child with an enthusiastic… collection of stories from her life as a world traveler and polio survivor. She offers plenty of colorful accounts of places she’s visited… The book’s second part flips… between advice for caregivers of aging parents and for aging readers themselves concerning ambulatory difficulties, dealing with changes in one’s capabilities, and developing a partnership between the caregiver and the person needing assistance… the author’s infectious sense of adventure will appeal to those struggling with aging and disability.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Pull out your travel pants and let Francine take you on a globe-trotting tour of her favorite destinations and the best ways to navigate them, especially… [with a] handicap. After her travel section, she shares her resilient experience finding incredible resources and tools to maximize quality of life with a winning attitude. Highly readable and very informative.”
―Kathryn E. Johnson, Retired CEO, American Hospital Association’s Health Forum

“No Spring Chicken manages to be inspiring, heartwarming and informational all at once, with a charming irreverence that makes it a delightful read. Partly a book on travel, particularly for those who experience mobility or other challenges, it’s also a book that inspires curiosity, tenacity and adventure no matter one’s physical abilities or age. With compassion, humor and just the right amount of sass, Francine Falk-Allen encourages us all to explore, be kind to ourselves, ask for what we need, and have some fun.”
—Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, writing and speech coach and author of Filling Her Shoes and From Page to Stage

“Francine Falk-Allen has packed No Spring Chicken with useful information, inspiring personal stories, and laugh-out-loud moments. Whether you’re facing physical challenges of aging or a disability at any time, you’ll find many practical tips for making daily life and traveling to virtually any place in the world easier. I’m glad to have this resource to recommend to my therapy clients and others.”
—Marcia Naomi Berger, LCSW, author of Marriage Minded: An A to Z Dating Guide for Lasting Love and Marriage Meetings for Lasting Love

“Move over, Rick Steves, Francine Falk-Allen has condensed a life of travel from her living room to Paris, Egypt, and across the street into a smart, simple how-to for navigating any terrain. If you are aging or have loved ones who are unable to navigate the world as they once did, you will find this book extremely helpful; it’s laced with lots of common sense and humor. Her chapter on the importance of incorporating gentle Yoga into your daily regime is powerful and achievable. Add three deep belly breaths and get started.”
—Amy Peele, certified Chopra Yoga instructor specializing in chair yoga, and author of Match: a Medical Murder Mystery and Cut: A Medical Murder Mystery

“No Spring Chicken is like having your own personal guide at the Aging or Disability Theme Park, so you get the most out of all the rides! Part travelogue, part owner’s manual for aging or disabled people and those who love them, it’s a delightful guide to living your best life. Falk-Allen knows the terrain, has walked the path, and shares her wisdom with optimism and resilience.”
—Mary E. Plouffe, Ph.D., author of I Know It in My Heart: Walking through Grief with a Child

From the Publisher

05/21/2021

Falk-Allen's second book (after Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability) is another installment of memoiristic stories about her life as a person with polio. In this volume, she writes about her experiences with disability, especially regarding travel, and offers helpful tips for readers dealing with physical limitations, including those brought on by aging, who want to get out and see the world. She covers pluses and minuses of traveling by car, air, train, and canal, and offers advice for getting around in the United States as well as abroad. VERDICT This memoir/travel guide provides inspiration and concrete advice for readers with disabilities. A solid choice for public libraries.—Deborah Bigelow, Director Emerita, Leonia P.L., NJ

Library Journal

★ 2021-05-18
A memoir of the author’s adventures living with a disability.

This latest nonfiction work from Falk-Allen is intended as a follow-up to her earlier memoir, Not a Poster Child: Living Well With a Disability—A Memoir (2018), which detailed her contending with the effects of polio. The author contracted the disease 70-plus years ago, when she was 3, and it left her somewhat disabled, with one leg far weaker than the other—but she didn’t let this hold her back. She’s visited large portions of the United States and many countries around the world. She’s taken small practical steps toward increasing her freedom, including having a left-foot–accelerator pedal installed in her car, and she’s also made her peace with the limitations imposed on her by her disability and by the passage of time. She used to be able to walk a mile or more with the aid of her cane, but, more recently, she found she tired far more easily and has adapted her travel plans accordingly. Part of her book is designed to encourage all of her readers—disabled or not—to go out and explore the wider world, hence the amount of practical advice in these pages (do your research, check for handicapped access, budget your funds, etc.). This advice is liberally mixed with Falk-Allen’s own travel stories and memories, which range from the picaresque to more expected travel notes. About Canada’s Victoria Island, for instance, she writes, “Anyone who loves gardens has absolutely got to see Butchart Gardens, which started about a century ago with a gift to Mrs. Butchart of a packet of sweet pea seeds and a rose bush.” In every piece of advice and every travel anecdote, readers are carried along by the author’s vigorous prose and enthusiasm. She looks squarely at the additional challenges handicapped people face when traveling and offers exuberant encouragement.

A fun, spirited book about traveling while handicapped.

Kirkus Reviews