Mighty: Finding the Strength to Survive

Mighty is a heartwarming and entertaining memoir of survival against insurmountable odds. Matt Sterling presents an illuminating look at the obstacles inherent in living life with a permanent disability. His compelling story reminds us to keep moving forward in the hope that better days are always on the horizon.

The book begins with Matt's move to New York City to start a career in advertising just one year after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed into law in 1990. Matt chronicles his day-to-day life and reveals the frustrations of beginning a new life in a mostly inaccessible city, including his challenges finding an apartment, starting a new job, using public transportation, and dating. Readers travel with Matt around the world in his role as a salesman for Time, Inc., then to San Francisco during the height of the dot-com boom, and finally to Los Angeles, where he meets his wife, Carrie and together they begin a family.

Matt describes the joy of becoming a father, the pain of job elimination, and the loss of his own Dad to dementia. During the pandemic, Matt contracted a serious MRSA infection that kept him in the hospital on life support for four months. Readers are transported into the ICU and the rehab center where Matt stages his battle to regain his strength, rejoin his family and build a new life.

Mighty is a vivid and hopeful book about life's challenges and an inside look at the struggles of a disabled person. A case study for anyone dealing with adversity and searching for the strength to survive the next challenge.