BEHIND THE STORIES

With Ian Ruder

life beyond wheels

When Teal Sherer wrote her first article for New Mobility back in 2007, she was an up-and-coming actor who wasn’t sure she saw a future for herself in writing. Thirteen years later she has an impressive acting resume, a regular column in our magazine and, as of this issue, her first published cover story. What changed? “As I’ve gotten older, I feel like I have more I want to say,” she says. “Writing gives me a great excuse to connect with other people and take what I’ve learned and apply it.” The same wit and insight that made her hit series, My Gimpy Life, so enjoyable brings her prose to life and results in a fun read that gets below the surface of whatever she is covering.

After a year in which Tim Gilmer didn’t author a single article for New Mobility, it feels good to have our editor emeritus back in our pages. His articles have been an intrinsic part of our magazine since 2000, but he retired in 2018 and spent the last year assembling NM’s excellent college guide, Wheels on Campus. You’ll see what took him so long to return when you read an excerpt from the guide and then his story on epididymitis — a type of inflammation common in men with SCI. When I asked him if it felt good to get back in the swing of the monthly magazine, he laughed. “I’m not quite swinging,” he said.

David Radcliff will humbly tell you he is surviving the pandemic by keeping safe and busy, but his idea of busy may be more extreme than most. A writer and producer, Radcliff is pushing the entertainment industry for more accurate and visible representation of disability and diversity. In addition to writing for season one of ABC’s The Rookie and working on a yet-to-be-released Netflix series from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, he serves in the Inclusion & Equity Group at the Writers Guild of America, West, the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity, and is a board member for the Los Angeles chapter of the New Leaders Council. Keep your eyes peeled for a top-secret project he’s developing built on his own material.

life beyond wheels

COLUMNISTS

MAT BARTON • JOSH BASILE SHERI DENKENSOHN • MIKE ERVIN MIKE FRANZ • BROOK MCCALL TEAL SHERER • TODD STABELFELDT REVECA TORRES • KATE WILLETTE KARY WRIGHT

CONTRIBUTORS

KIM ANDERSON • CHRISTIAAN BAILEY LAWRENCE CARTER-LONG MICHAEL COLLINS • RORY COOPER

DEBORAH DAVIS • JENNIFER FRENCH

ALEX GHENIS • RICHARD HOLICKY GARY KARP • PAULA LARSON

REGAN LINTON • LILLY LONGSHORE KATE MATELAN • BEN MATTLIN

ASHLEY LYN OLSON • KENNY SALVINI ERIC STAMPFLI • MITCH TEPPER

ANTHONY TUSLER • KIRK WILLIAMS CORY LEE WOODARD LOREN WORTHINGTON

WEB PARTNERS

BACKBONES CURB FREE WITH CORY LEE ROLLIN’ RNS ROOTED IN RIGHTS SPINALPEDIA SPIN THE GLOBE

FEATURED WEB PARTNER: SPINALpedia is a social mentoring network and video archive that allows the spinal cord injury community to motivate each other with the knowledge and triumphs gained from individual experiences. spinalpedia.com

UNITED SPINAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS: unitedspinal.org/our-story