Driven

On September 29, 1988, eighteen-year-old Mike Cafferty was cruising the streets of Chicago’s South Side after midnight with his buddies. Like millions of teenagers, he thought he was invincible. Quicker than a flash, his life changed forever. Mike woke up in a hospital with screws in his head, surrounded by his family, including his stoic father and hysterical mother. Once a champion swimmer, Mike was told he’d lost use of his body from his shoulders down. He would be a quadriplegic for life.Driven is the gripping, funny, inspirational memoir of that devastating night and the courageous days and years that follow. From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, Driven takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of devastation and despair, alcoholism, love and loss, and ultimately perseverance, achievement, faith and family.Along the way, Driven shows the incomprehensible challenges those with severe disabilities face as it inspires anyone to overcome obstacles in their own lives.----Driven author Mike Cafferty is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down from a car accident in September, 1988. He uses a sip-and-puff wheelchair to ambulate, a voice-activated computer program to type and utilize his computer; and a mouth stick to turn pages, write and dial and answer the telephone. Mr. Cafferty is a lifelong resident of Chicago, growing up Catholic on the city’s South Side with two sisters and immigrant parents from Ireland. After his accident, he attended Junior college then attended and graduated from the University of Illinois with a BS degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. He later graduated from DePaul University College of Law and is currently an attorney for the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office in Chicago, assisting mentally incompetent clients with their personal and financial affairs. He is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Spinal Cord Injury Association. Mr. Cafferty now lives on Chicago’s Near West Side with his wife of 10 years and two adorable children. He was recently diagnosed with stage IV colon and liver cancer and is currently receiving chemotherapy.