At age 24, Francesco Clark was embarking on an exciting career in New York media, and opportunies were just beginning to fall in place for him. But then one evening on Memorial Weekend, he dove into the shallow end of a pool, and the accident left him paralyzed.
With the help of an extremely close Italian family and friends, Francesco began making his way back. He got himself into the famous treadmill study that Christopher Reeve had been a part of, and also had experimental surgery in China, after which Francesco immediately regained sensation in his middle torso. Doing five hours of physical therapy a day, he has astounded his doctors as he regained use of his arms and sensation in his extremities. Then, wanting to do more, he began a skin care business, Clark's Botanicals, that is carried in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Fred Segal. Francesco is now an Ambassador for the Christopher Reeve
Foundation and makes appearances with Reeve's children, who run the organization. Through it all, his family has been a very important part of his continuing recovery, and the book emphasizes the closeness he shares with his parents and siblings. Francesco's incredible optimism will inspire anyone who has a chronic illness or condition, as well as their caregivers.
Francesco has won major awards for his skin care line and is extremely well connected in the media, having been profiled in the NEW YORK TIMES, W, and many other magazines.
