one woman’s harrowing and hilarious journey
Ex-model Hogan Gorman was living the typical New York working actor’s life—auditions and classes by day, waitressing and fending off handsy customers by night — when a wise (or just crazy) friend convinced her to ask the universe for a change. And she got one—coming at her at forty miles per hour. HIT BY A CAR and suffering debilitating injuries, and with NO HEALTH INSURANCE , the fashionista attempts to bounce back into her (thrift store–purchased) Jimmy Choos even as she deals with short-term memory loss, stalker ambulance drivers, trying to stay vegan on food stamps, crazy judges, hot doctors, and unsympathetic government workers.
Inspired by her acclaimed one-woman show, this is a bitingly funny and keenly observed account of the cracks in our medical and social welfare system and how one woman’s resilience combined with a generous dollop of humor helped her fight her way to recovery.
"Hogan Gorman has written a smart, tough and very funny book about serious injury, immense pain, and her war against the American medical system. Oh, and did I mention that it's VERY FUNNY?"
- Salman Rushdie
"Equal parts hilarity and humiliation, funny and frustrating, bone breaks and head shakes, Hot Cripple will force you to look more closely at our health care, legal and social welfare systems, as well as your own life and the lives of those we ignore everyday."
- Wade Rouse (Author of It's All Relative, and I'm not the Biggest Bitch...)
"Hogan Gorman's story will make you furious, it will make you incredulous, and it will also make you laugh your ass off."
- Rachel Dratch (Comedian, author of A Girl Walks into a Bar)
"(3 1/2 stars)... Hot Cripple is a sometimes funny, often harrowing look at a fear many of us share: getting seriously injured without the means to pay for it."
(Gorman is) a sexy smart-ass who thankfully doesn't let red tape - or anything else - get in her way. There's nothing sappy about this book, and Gorman's don't - mess - with me attitude will surely fire up even the most broken down spirit, injured or not."
(starred review):
“[Hot Cripple is] the funny, moving story of the blue-eyed, blond model/actress who became the unlikely poster girl for the plight of the poor and uninsured in America after she was struck by a car in a New York City street in 2004…Gorman succeeds in not only telling her own triumphant story, but also illuminating the countless problems with the broken American health-care and justice systems…A remarkable, emotional journey through unrelenting pain—and laughter.”
“Gorman’s brutally honest descriptions of her experiences are sharp and detailed, written in a down to earth style… An essential read for those seeking a personal perspective on health care.”
“In her sassy, spirited memoir, Hot Cripple, Gorman straps on a back brace over her Prada and leads us through one soulless waiting room after another in search of financial, surgical, and legal help…But as she sells off her label-filled wardrobe to pay the rent and tries to eat vegan on about $4 a day, we glimpse the scary truth about how close many of us are to falling off the tightrope.”
"It's Gorman's wit as she describes the abyss of the uninsured in the U.S. that keeps one turning the page. Is it possible to make shuffling through the streets to a doctor's appointment funny?... Ms. Gorman is hot, but after reading her book, it is clear that the sizzle has to do with more than just her reflection in the mirror."
"This book starts out smart-aleck hilarious and ends up sweetly hilarious, and despite the horror of what happened and a few wrenching moments of despair, Gorman keeps us laughing in between. This is a feisty, gutsy, sassy story with ending words that are well-chosen and that will hit home for many readers."
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