To Walk With My Brother

Wayne Thornton had the misfortune of becoming a paraplegic in the early 1950s, at the age of six. This tragedy became the foundation for a life that transcended the limits such a disability might have imposed. He learned to drive a car, graduated from college and enjoyed a successful career as an accountant until his death in 2011. Supported by the love of a close-knit Southern community, Wayne also inspired others to reach their goals. His eldest sister, Evelyn, shares Wayne's story with love, humor and celebration. She lets us know just what it was like to walk with her brother. "Wayne Thornton may have spent most of his life in a wheel chair, but he certainly didn't sit life out. To Walk With My Brother is a loving memoir, written by a devoted sister, of how a family steeped in Southern ways of faith and love and community, bonded together more tightly after her brother's stinging tragedy. And the resulting family fortification influenced Wayne to never take a back seat in anything. Now, Wayne's outlook on life has, in turn, had a lingering positive effect on his family and community and on many other people he never knew he touched." Walt Grayson, Look Around Mississippi, WLBT-TV, Jackson, Mississippi "Wayne's story is one of triumph, of an individual's unrelenting tenacity to eliminate the physical and attitudinal barriers to a meaningful and complete life. His story is also about a family's love and support that enriched the human spirit." Clyde E. Terry, JD; CEO, Granite State Independent Living "The power and beauty of this book stems from the innocent and unbroken love between two brave children of God from the dark winter of heartbreak to the (everlasting) spring of rebirth. To Walk With My Brother is a lifelong journey of hope and a moving tribute to a man in which the reader becomes a welcomed sojourner." Andrea Napolitano, Portland, Maine, lifelong friend