Cripzen: A Manual for Survival

“Over half of the disabled commit suicide in the first few years of their new lives ” says the author. “I wrote CripZen to show my brothers and sisters how to survive and in the process find love for others (and themselves.)” Milam has been described as “a survivors survivor.” He has been disabled for over forty years. With rich humor and a sageness born of so many years in what he calls “the wilderness of the body ” he shows his fellow disabled how to deal with their new world of rehabilitation specialists SSI wheelchairs doctors and a new body. There are several chapters on aspects of sexuality including “Celibacy ” “Gay Love ” “Self Love ” “Sex Surrogates ” and “Fetishes.” (Milam wrote a sexuality column for several years for Independent Living from which these chapters are drawn.) The heart of the book is the title chapter CripZen. “Zen Buddhism is a religion that emphasizes spiritual growth and the quiet mind over physical activities and the temporary pleasures of the flesh ” he says. “The study and practice of Zen should be a natural for us.”