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The remarkable story of a disabled man’s struggle to make a productive life for himself
Wheelchair Warrior
Gangs, Disability, and Basketball
Melvin Juette and Ronald J. Berger
"A compelling and richly sociological memoir. The incisive introduction and conclusion highlight how and why Melvin’s successes are not simply of his own making. Wheelchair Warrior provides the reader with an enlightening analysis of how history and society intersect with biography in Melvin’s life."
—Kent Sandstrom, University of Northern Iowa
Melvin Juette has said that becoming paralyzed in a gang-related shooting was "both the worst and best thing that happened" to him. The incident, he believes, surely spared the then sixteen year-old African American from prison and/or an early death. It transformed him in other ways, too. He attended college and made wheelchair basketball his passion—ultimately becoming a star athlete and playing on the U.S. National Wheelchair Basketball Team.
In Wheelchair Warrior, Juette reconstructs the defining moments of his life with the assistance of sociologist Ronald Berger. His poignant memoir is bracketed by Berger’s thoughtful introduction and conclusion, which places this narrative of race, class, masculinity and identity into proper sociological context, showing how larger social structural forces defined his experiences. While Juette’s story never gives into despair, it does challenge the idea of the “supercrip.”
Reviews
"Juette’s story follows his evolution from boy to man, from gang member to wheelchair athlete, and it’s a story of determination and inspiration that will touch everyone who reads it."
— Booklist
"Juette offers an informative ethnography on both gang life and wheelchair basketball….His accounts of gang life alone would recommend his book as a worthy assigned text by those who teach courses on the sociology of deviance and gangs. Those who teach sport sociology courses would also find merit in the first-hand accounts of participation in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, which was founded in 1949. In short, this book has something to offer both academics and lay readers."
— Library Journal
About the Author(s)
Melvin Juette is Community Service Coordinator of the Deferred Prosecution Unit of the Dane County District Attorney's Office in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ronald J. Berger is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater