Will & I: A Memoir

“Byars recounts his struggle to master a body shattered by tragedy . . . A fascinating, if chilling, meditation on the aftermath of trauma.” —Publishers Weekly

Clay Byars was recovering at home from a near-fatal car crash when he suffered a massive stroke. He was just eighteen years old. He awoke, back in the hospital, and was told he would be paralyzed from the eyes down for the rest of his life.

Determined to defy the odds, Clay quickly and miraculously began to recover his mobility but discovered just how different his life would be—a disparity embodied by his identical twin brother, Will. As Will went on to graduate from college, marry, and start a family, Clay carved out a unique existence, doing the seemingly impossible by living on his own on a remote farm in Alabama.

With haunting clarity and heartrending honesty, Will & I tells the unlikely story of Clay’s life and his coping mechanisms, including weekly singing lessons that not only teach him to use his voice but remind him of his will to exist. In this singular and striking meditation on vulnerability and vitality, we’re invited to see how Clay sees the world—and how the world sees him—as he bravely challenges himself and his abilities at every turn.

“A visceral, electric memoir.” —Dannye Romine Powell, The Charlotte Observer

“[An] intensely powerful memoir . . . Compact, substantial and thoroughly compelling—reminiscent of neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous bestseller, When Breath Becomes Air.” —Alice Cary, BookPage

“[A] memoir of recovery against considerable odds . . . A stark, honest book that reads like a writer’s apprenticeship amid harrowing circumstances.” —Kirkus Reviews

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