• Finding the strength to get back up after being knocked down
• Moving past your fears and discovering your voice
• Learning to champion your own cause
• Believing in yourself when no one else does
• Overcoming insurmountable obstacles

Life in idyllic 1960s McAlisterville, Pennsylvania seems so promising to young Nelson Lauver. But undiagnosed dyslexia soon turns hope and optimism into struggle and shame as he falls far behind in school, and is branded lazy. Confused, angry and determined not to be the “dumb kid,” he chooses instead to become the “bad kid,” ending up a loner at odds with the world – and with himself. Nelson resigns himself to being hopelessly different, and joins the ranks of millions of Americans who try to hide their inability to read and write.

At age 29, a chance encounter leads to a diagnosis of dyslexia and a profound rebirth. Ironically, the boy who was afraid to have anyone hear him try to read launches a new career as a writer, broadcaster and speaker.

• An estimated 10 to 20 percent of Americans suffer from a learning disability.
• 14 percent of American adults are considered functionally illiterate.

More than personalizing these sobering statistics, this uplifting memoir goes beyond one man’s account of rising above a learning disability. Most Unlikely to Succeed is an inspirational story that will speak eloquently and profoundly to anyone who has ever struggled to be heard, to be understood, or to make their way in the world.

A note from Nelson…

Growing up, I thought I was the only kid like me in the world. I thought I was all alone. Many years later, as my life changed for the better, I slowly came to understand that my story was, and is, the story of millions of Americans who struggle with literacy.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has approached me as I’ve walked off stage and said, “Nelson, you just told my story — we share the same story!”

After one speaking engagement in York, Pa., an elderly man ran from the back of the theater to the front and enthusiastically exclaimed, “Nelson, I can’t read!” He, of course, wasn’t excited about the fact that he couldn’t read, but by the fact that after almost three quarters of a century he finally realized that he was not alone.

Moreover, my story is everybody’s story in that we all have something, some obstacle that we’ve had to wrestle, or are still wrestling with. What I finally figured out that moved my life forward in a quantum leap was simple: I was the only person who could do anything about what was holding me back. Sure, I had help, but I had to be willing to reach out for that help. I feel that giving voice to my story gives voice to others who have yet to find theirs … who have yet to reach out for help … who are still, out of fear and shame, struggling needlessly with literacy and other difficulties.