Join Tom Turner for an author talk on his recently published book, "Beyond the Bridge: 10 Lessons Learned from a Lifetime of Disability." The eBook edition is available on Draft to Digital for many reader platforms, including Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and Hoopla, at the following link: https://books2read.com/Tom-Turner.

Tom graduated from Victor Senior High School in 1990 and Finger Lakes Community College in 1994 with an associate degree in broadcast communications. He was born with spina bifida, a common but little-known birth defect. Never letting it define him, Tom worked for his family's business, Turner Automotive Corvettes, in Victor.

In this session, Tom will share highlights and lessons from his life and family story in our Victor community that offer a positive model for disability advocacy and inclusion. Tom's story begins on the night of his birth in 1970, his parents, doctors sharing the generally accepted medical advice of the time: "Don't get attached. He may not make it." Now, in his fifties, it's still hard for Tom to imagine the emotions that rushed through my parents' minds that night. "How will we take care of him? What is his life going to be like? Should we put him in an institution?"

Without a moment's hesitation, however, his father announced, "No! We want him! Bring us our son!" Taking no time to dwell on the future, his parents instead immediately decided to seek out a second opinion for life-saving surgery at another hospital in Rochester. In that instant, they answered those open-ended questions and never looked back.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear Tom share 53 years of incredible life lessons centered in our local Victor community.