A Clown in Cobwebs

About the Book

After a passionate date, Frank and Linda find that they will soon be parents. Frank is sent oversees with the marines, and Linda is left to face pregnancy out of wedlock in the late 1950s south alone. After they later marry, they have a son born with birth defects. Is this a punishment or a lesson? How should they care for this son?

About the Author

Walt Nelson is a retired teacher, husband, and father who due to Amniotic Band Syndrome was born with no feet, no right hand, and with only a thumb and pinky on his left. Walt wrote this memoir to illustrate the challenges of growing up in the rural south with disabilities, and a father who was ashamed of him. This memoir reminds us that worth and dignity can be found in all humans regardless of the design of the exterior.