Double Take: A Memoir »

Born without legs, raised in Montana, and now a skateboarding world traveler, Kevin Michael Connolly has seen the world in a way most people never will. His internationally acclaimed photo series, The Rolling Exhibition, which encompasses seventeen countries and more than 30,000 photographs of people staring at him, has been featured in museums and galleries around the world.

Double take A rapid or surprised second look, either literal or figurative, at a person or situation whose significance has not been completely grasped at first.

Kevin Michael Connolly is a twenty-three-year-old man who has seen the world in a way most of us never will. Whether swarmed by Japanese tourists at Epcot Center as a child or holding court at the X Games on his mono-ski, Kevin Connolly has been an object of curiosity since the day he was born without legs. Growing up in rural Montana, he was raised like any other kid (except, that is, for his father's MacGyver-like contraptions such as the "butt boot"). As a college student, Kevin traveled to seventeen countries on his skateboard, including Bosnia, China, Ukraine, and Japan. In an attempt to capture the stares of others, he took more than 33,000 photographs of people staring at him. In this dazzling memoir, Connolly casts the lens inward to explore how we view ourselves and what it is to truly see another...

Publishers Weekly

Photographer, champion skier and skateboarder Connolly has been stared at his entire 23-year life. Not because he's handsome, talented and athletic (all true), but because he has no legs. He was born without them, but born into a family that he describes as loving, loyal and matter-of-fact. Connolly writes that his father and grandfather—inspired by several seasons of MacGyver—engineered numerous devices to help the growing boy manage everyday tasks, from using light switches to pitching in on chores, and he was well prepared for his first day of school because his mother led countless “What would you do if...?” conversations. Connolly appears to be an intelligent, fairly unflappable adult with a healthy sense of humility and humor. He's a good storyteller, too, whether describing his first high school wrestling match, the path from novice to champion skier or what it's like to travel around the world on a skateboard. Connolly also shares his memories of an important, defining moment: when he decided to use photography to gaze back at the people who stared at him. “Each photo was a miniature catharsis,” he writes, adding, “Finally, I was able to find my own use for that stare, and it felt good.” His photos, 19 of which serve as chapter dividers, became part of The Rolling Exhibition, which was shown worldwide, including at the Smithsonian. The images are beautiful, revealing and stimulating—just like his narrative. (Nov.)

1 Birth Day 1

2 Adaptations 9

3 What If? 15

4 Playground 27

5 Standard Issue 37

6 Dirtbags 47

7 Blind Support 57

8 Wounded Vigilante 69

9 Skateboard 81

10 Forced Blessings 97

11 Snapshot 121

12 Going for Broke 131

13 Money Motivations 145

14 The Dog Show 155

15 Tokyo Story 165

16 Slow Dancing 173

17 Sarajevo Roses 189

18 Parting 201

19 Home 211

epilogue: Old Hands 223

Acknowledgments 229