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Enjoying the Ride: Two Generations of Tragedy and Triumph
Equal parts entertaining and inspiring, Enjoying the Ride tells an extraordinary mother and son story
and provides a refreshingly candid perspective on the lives of disabled people.
Mitch was five when he learned his mother would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. If he hadn’t grown up with such an inspirational role model, however, he wouldn’t have been prepared for what would come.
At 35, the same age as his mother when she had her accident, Mitch began experiencing symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis, a particularly disabling form of MS, and his physical challenges grew to resemble his mother’s. In the ensuing years, he muddled through the ethical swampland of clinical trials, navigated the minefield of experimental treatments, and became a popular blogger and disability advocate. Only while conducting research for this book did Mitch learn the heart-wrenching story about the night his mother was injured.
and provides a refreshingly candid perspective on the lives of disabled people.
Mitch was five when he learned his mother would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. If he hadn’t grown up with such an inspirational role model, however, he wouldn’t have been prepared for what would come.
At 35, the same age as his mother when she had her accident, Mitch began experiencing symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis, a particularly disabling form of MS, and his physical challenges grew to resemble his mother’s. In the ensuing years, he muddled through the ethical swampland of clinical trials, navigated the minefield of experimental treatments, and became a popular blogger and disability advocate. Only while conducting research for this book did Mitch learn the heart-wrenching story about the night his mother was injured.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 23, 2018
24 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Mitch Sturgeon
1 book2 followersMitch Sturgeon is a memoirist, blogger, and disability advocate. He was none of these things before being diagnosed with an aggressive form of MS in 2001. In the ensuing years he lost his ability to pursue outdoor passions like golf, snowmobiling, and hiking. In 2009, a year after he purchased his first wheelchair, he took medical retirement from his chemical engineering career and began writing.
Mitch authors an award-winning blog, enjoyingtheride.com, where he employs a mixture of humor, inspiration, and straight-talk to share his experiences as a disabled person. His essays can be found in periodicals such as Down East Magazine and in a variety of disability journals and websites. Mitch lives in South Portland, Maine, with his wife, Kim, where he can usually be found talking to his computer while gazing out over the ocean.
Mitch authors an award-winning blog, enjoyingtheride.com, where he employs a mixture of humor, inspiration, and straight-talk to share his experiences as a disabled person. His essays can be found in periodicals such as Down East Magazine and in a variety of disability journals and websites. Mitch lives in South Portland, Maine, with his wife, Kim, where he can usually be found talking to his computer while gazing out over the ocean.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 6, 2025
A friend and colleague recommended this book to me after reading it as part of a professional development event. I had recently worked closely with local disability advocates on our municipal ADA Transition Plan, and had experienced some health issues myself due to a rare disease that affected my mobility. Unlike author Mitch Sturgeon, however, most of my mobility issues were able to be treated once I was eventually diagnosed. This book sat on my reading shelf as I navigated my own issues and then languished longer waiting for me to get over my snobbish self-righteous judging of self-published type books, being a "real" published author myself, don't you know?
When I finally started it, I quickly discovered a really enticing read. Sturgeon writes with a charming but unaffected demeanor that can be alternatively humorous, poignant, vulnerable, and sometimes all three together. He begins with his childhood, the sudden spinal injury and subsequent disability of his mother, and continues on throughout his upbringing, education, marriage, children, diagnosis, treatment, family dynamics, and various adventures. Readers really get to know Mitch, and this reader found him very relatable and his narrative style very enjoyable. I found myself wanting to read one more chapter, and then one more. The chapters are fairly short too, making it easy to digest in bursts.
The author's hometown state of Maine, it's locations and culture, weave into the narrative, and I enjoyed recognizing places I visited as well as his time in Cleveland and connections here.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for just a good memoire, and as a bonus, you'll probably learn a great deal about living with a progressive disease like MS.
When I finally started it, I quickly discovered a really enticing read. Sturgeon writes with a charming but unaffected demeanor that can be alternatively humorous, poignant, vulnerable, and sometimes all three together. He begins with his childhood, the sudden spinal injury and subsequent disability of his mother, and continues on throughout his upbringing, education, marriage, children, diagnosis, treatment, family dynamics, and various adventures. Readers really get to know Mitch, and this reader found him very relatable and his narrative style very enjoyable. I found myself wanting to read one more chapter, and then one more. The chapters are fairly short too, making it easy to digest in bursts.
The author's hometown state of Maine, it's locations and culture, weave into the narrative, and I enjoyed recognizing places I visited as well as his time in Cleveland and connections here.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for just a good memoire, and as a bonus, you'll probably learn a great deal about living with a progressive disease like MS.
Read
December 7, 2019I read this book for a class for municipal clerks as part of the Athenian Dialogue program, presented at the New England Association of City and Town Clerks, in November. In this program, which has a focus on leadership, a book is chosen and a municipal clerk can sign up, read the book, come into the facilitated discussion (six hours) and then write a topical paper, as assigned by the facilitator and due 30 days after the discussion. It is like being in an intensive book group with a paper due if you want the points toward certification.
Participating in this program has broadened my reading and provided me an opportunity to learn in the discussion with my peers.
Enjoying the Ride by Mitch Sturgeon was the sixth book I have had the pleasure to read and discuss. Mitch is inspirational. The book is a roller coaster of his life that was forever changed at age five when his mother had an accident that left her in a wheelchair. He talks about her strength of character and love for him (she was his ally when his stern father was around) and his two brothers that made her want to leave her hospital bed to "get home and take care of my three boys." Mitch's mother had a positive outlook on life that is shared by her son. When Mitch was 35 (the same age as his mother when she had her accident) when he began to display symptoms of what was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). Throughout this book, he describes his fight to get treatment, participating whenever possible in medical trials, all the while watching the clock tick as his symptoms progressed. He talks about the turning points in his debilitating illness - getting and using a cane, the need for a wheelchair. And, surprisingly, feeling "invigorated" when at last the diagnosis is made, so what is affecting his body "has a name."
In addition to reading this book, our Athenian Dialogue group was treated to a Facetime visit with Mitch and his incredible wife, Kim, who also came to our conference. Mitch was the final presenter - one of the best I've experienced.
I came away from this book and the activities around it realizing how clueless I and so many others are when it comes to accessibility awareness. Mitch said he preferred the word "disabled" and also objected to the term "confined to a wheelchair" when this device actually gives a certain freedom of movement. He also talked about how an assistive device sends a message. One of my favorite anecdotes was the Sturgeons' trip to Boston for a Red Sox game and the long line of young, able-bodied people in line to use the accessible restroom - Mitch, in his iBot wheelchair, rolled unapologetically to the front of the line. He also concludes that the insurance system is not set up to improve the lives of the disabled, but more to "perpetuate our miserable existence, not elevating it" by only being responsible for "helping us move from bedroom to kitchen to bathroom." He is out to change this and make us all aware of what needs to be done,
Mitch is an activist and works for change. He is an award-winning blogger and a fantastic speaker.
Two of my favorite quotes:
" We all want to live vivaciously and die quickly at the end."
"I like to leave people happier than I found them."
You owe it to yourself to read this book. It is about Mitch's family, his life growing up in a Maine mill town, his illness and it is about positivity and hope.
Participating in this program has broadened my reading and provided me an opportunity to learn in the discussion with my peers.
Enjoying the Ride by Mitch Sturgeon was the sixth book I have had the pleasure to read and discuss. Mitch is inspirational. The book is a roller coaster of his life that was forever changed at age five when his mother had an accident that left her in a wheelchair. He talks about her strength of character and love for him (she was his ally when his stern father was around) and his two brothers that made her want to leave her hospital bed to "get home and take care of my three boys." Mitch's mother had a positive outlook on life that is shared by her son. When Mitch was 35 (the same age as his mother when she had her accident) when he began to display symptoms of what was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). Throughout this book, he describes his fight to get treatment, participating whenever possible in medical trials, all the while watching the clock tick as his symptoms progressed. He talks about the turning points in his debilitating illness - getting and using a cane, the need for a wheelchair. And, surprisingly, feeling "invigorated" when at last the diagnosis is made, so what is affecting his body "has a name."
In addition to reading this book, our Athenian Dialogue group was treated to a Facetime visit with Mitch and his incredible wife, Kim, who also came to our conference. Mitch was the final presenter - one of the best I've experienced.
I came away from this book and the activities around it realizing how clueless I and so many others are when it comes to accessibility awareness. Mitch said he preferred the word "disabled" and also objected to the term "confined to a wheelchair" when this device actually gives a certain freedom of movement. He also talked about how an assistive device sends a message. One of my favorite anecdotes was the Sturgeons' trip to Boston for a Red Sox game and the long line of young, able-bodied people in line to use the accessible restroom - Mitch, in his iBot wheelchair, rolled unapologetically to the front of the line. He also concludes that the insurance system is not set up to improve the lives of the disabled, but more to "perpetuate our miserable existence, not elevating it" by only being responsible for "helping us move from bedroom to kitchen to bathroom." He is out to change this and make us all aware of what needs to be done,
Mitch is an activist and works for change. He is an award-winning blogger and a fantastic speaker.
Two of my favorite quotes:
" We all want to live vivaciously and die quickly at the end."
"I like to leave people happier than I found them."
You owe it to yourself to read this book. It is about Mitch's family, his life growing up in a Maine mill town, his illness and it is about positivity and hope.
March 20, 2020
I think this is an excellent book. The author tells his story about his struggles and triumphs with Multiple Sclerosis. After being diagnosed with a more advanced disease course than most people who have MS are first diagnosed with he seems to keep living life the way he always had, until the MonSter started taking things away from him.
I know that struggle, or I know my personal experience with the struggle that is MS. I read books written by fellow MSers when I see one, and I am glad I found this one. I don't exactly feel sorry for Mr. Sturgeon, but I do know many of his struggles and how much they can really suck at times.
The book is well written and well worth the read. I wish my husband were a reader, I would really like him to read this book, I can never find the right words to make him understand what I deal with but the book is right on, perfect for helping someone without MS to understand what it can be like for someone who does have it.
I know that struggle, or I know my personal experience with the struggle that is MS. I read books written by fellow MSers when I see one, and I am glad I found this one. I don't exactly feel sorry for Mr. Sturgeon, but I do know many of his struggles and how much they can really suck at times.
The book is well written and well worth the read. I wish my husband were a reader, I would really like him to read this book, I can never find the right words to make him understand what I deal with but the book is right on, perfect for helping someone without MS to understand what it can be like for someone who does have it.
August 4, 2019
This book was chosen by my book group because it was written by a Maine author who also happened to be a college friend of one of our members. It is a memoir about growing up with a mom who was paralyzed from the neck down and then his own diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in his mid 30s. He truthfully and candidly describes his experience with sincerity, realism, and humor. If you have someone in your life, whether friend or family, this will definitely help you to understand what it is like to live with a chronic and debilitating disease. I have even recommended it to a neighbor (which, by Maine definition, means a person who lives in the same town) who was diagnosed with a different form of MS 20 years ago. Maybe you can pass it on to someone you know as well.
December 28, 2023
I read this book with colleagues as part of a professional development seminar and enjoyed it tremendously. Mitch's daily struggles and larger existential questions really opened my heart and mind to empathize with disabled folks in ways that I don't think I was capable of until reading this. Mitch's story will undoubtedly stick with me for a long time. I wish there were more voices out that there like Mitch's. He is a terrific writer! Entertaining, relatable, and knows how to keep a narrative thread coherent and cohesive. It's amazing to me, that this was a second calling to him. I hope that he continues to keep writing.
May 22, 2019
I met the author at an author event, and bought his book as I was anticipating a long airplane ride. It was the perfect airplane book, as it kept me entertained while sitting on a plane for 8 hours (3 hours on the ground, plus 5 hours in the air - yes, I know, poor me). Very well written, and interesting. My favorite parts were when Mitch was reflective. It was especially fun to read since I had met the author and his wonderful wife, Kim. Highly recommended reading.
June 1, 2019
Inspiring
I could not put this book down until the end,i learned so much about people with MS and our daily struggles. Everything that was written put me into perspective And, i now can look at each day as a blessing instead of a curse!! Mitch is inspiring and has no idea how this book helped me look at things in a much better irrespective than i was prior to this book!! Much love to all of us MSers!!
I could not put this book down until the end,i learned so much about people with MS and our daily struggles. Everything that was written put me into perspective And, i now can look at each day as a blessing instead of a curse!! Mitch is inspiring and has no idea how this book helped me look at things in a much better irrespective than i was prior to this book!! Much love to all of us MSers!!
April 16, 2019
If you grew up in Maine, have been to Maine, or have ties to a Mainer, you will appreciate this author and his relationships. The story is compelling, the moments of humor are honest and the true perseverance and grit of someone who is faced with unexpected decisions keeps the pages turning. What a great read from a local author!
August 24, 2019
Mitch is an inspiration
He rises above and beyond MS and gives a honest, detailed story on how he is coping with this disease. It has some humorous, uplifting parts which out ways the bad things he has went through
He rises above and beyond MS and gives a honest, detailed story on how he is coping with this disease. It has some humorous, uplifting parts which out ways the bad things he has went through
January 16, 2021
really loved this memoir and highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews