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Highlight on Mike May

Mike and Family
Image copyright by Alyson Aliano 		Mike celebrating the release of Crashing Through with Stevie Wonder and long time friend and colleague Rob Reis
Image copyright by Mike May

"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself."
- Søren Kierkegaard

Nashville singer/song writer Sara Beck wrote and recorded Crashing Through. This ballad encapsulates the crashing through spirit and story of Mike May, also recognized within the cover of her 2009 CD, Music for Lovers and Fighters.

Crashing Through Award - applications closed February 15, 2009.

A book and movie based on Mike May's adventures

Robert Kurson website about Crashing Through. Hard Cover Book art: black cover Crashing Through (gray), A true (purple), Story (indigo), Of Risk (blue), Adventure (teal), and the (green), Man Who (yellow), Dared (orange), To See (red) Crashing Through. Paperback Book cover art: Young boy riding a bicycle

Crashing Through now available in paperback.

"Crashing Through - A true Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See," a book by Robert Kurson from Random House. Released May 15, 2007.

A movie based on Crashing Through is in the works by Fox, with contributions from Oscar winners and a best selling author.

Purchase Crashing Through

Accessible versions of Crashing Through available from the following sources:

The unabridged audio book is read by Doug Ordunio (ISBN: 978-1-4159-3871-3 the CD version or 978-1-4159-4046-4 the tape version). A bonus audio interview is included.

For purchase

Free to NLS and Bookshare.org subscribers

About Crashing Through

In his critically acclaimed bestseller Shadow Divers, Robert Kurson explored the depths of history, friendship, and compulsion. Now Kurson returns with another thrilling adventure - the stunning true story of one man's heroic odyssey from blindness into sight.

Mike May spent his life crashing through. Blinded at age three, he defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision.

Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May's vision. It would allow him to drive, to read, to see his children's faces. He began to contemplate an astonishing new world: Would music still sound the same? Would sex be different? Would he recognize himself in the mirror? Would his marriage survive? Would he still be Mike May?

The procedure was filled with risks, some of them deadly, others beyond May's wildest dreams. Even if the surgery worked, history was against him. Fewer than twenty cases were known worldwide in which a person gained vision after a lifetime of blindness. Each of those people suffered desperate consequences we can scarcely imagine.

There were countless reasons for May to pass on vision. He could think of only a single reason to go forward. Whatever his decision, he knew it would change his life.

Beautifully written and thrillingly told, Crashing Through is a journey of suspense, daring, romance, and insight into the mysteries of vision and the brain. Robert Kurson gives us a fascinating account of one man's choice to explore what it means to see, and to truly live.

Media

Mike May, image copyright Bruce Brown

KGO / ABC 7 News in San Francisco ran a story about Mike May and Crashing Through on May 30, 2007

Understanding Blindness and the Brain: a YouTube presentation about Mike by Brian Wandell at Stanford University.

Read Reviews of Crashing Through

USA Today rated Crashing Through as a "Hot Choice" and posted an excerpt of Crashing Through

For media about Crashing Through contact Kim Casey

Travel Stories

A photo storybook of Mike May encountering life Photo Gallery

This section is a collection of Mike's travel experiences. Read about his adventures around the world or for his most recent entries visit, GPS Travel Blog.

Mike in Ghana pitching in for his share of the town's work

In 1976, Mike traveled with his Seeing Eye dog to the West African country of Ghana to live with a family. It was Mike's first time out of the United States and a major cultural and physical shock. He recorded his initial experiences until the batteries ran out. It was one of the most profound experiences of his life. You will hear how preoccupied he was with food, something rather scarce in the jungle village where he ended up living until he came home early after a serious bout of Malaria.

Mike and Josh at a picnic table

Audio Clips

  • An audio clip of the first ever Laser Turntable being tracked by hand. Present are Jerry Kalov (investor and mentor), Rob Reis (founder of Finial Technology) and 3 engineers.
  • An audio clip of Count Guillermo Cabezas promising to include blind skiers in future Olympic competitions at the behest of Ron and Mike.
  • An audio clip of Ron Salviolo guiding Mike May, the first blind skier on an Olympic run, in Sarajevo, 1984.

Inspirational Speaking

Mike is available for corporate and nonprofit inspirational speaking. For more information, visit Mike's Speaking Page.

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