If at Birth You Don’t Succeed

In this wonderful, open collection of essays, Anner, a stand-up comedian, reflects on his 30 years with cerebral palsy. Though the disease has limited Anner’s mobility, it’s done nothing to dampen his sense of humor and love of the world; he was a breakout favorite on the OWN reality competition Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star, which launched a series of travel shows, and he writes at length about the experience with some intriguing insights. A great deal of Anner’s comedy is the peppy, uplifting sort you’d expect from someone who Oprah says “makes [her] want to be a better person,” such as his elaborate Olive Garden metaphors for the nature of life, but there’s a healthy dose of sobering reality in the mix as well. Some of his most resonant work deals with the influences on his life as a person with a disability: Anner remarks wryly that being expected to act as an ambassador for the disabled “is a tightrope walk, which is hard on four wheels.” Maybe so, but with this book, he makes it look easy. [em](Mar.) [/em]