In 2004 i bought an old short school bus—the kind that transports studnets to special education programs—and journeyed across America to find others who have used humor, imagination, and resiliency to create satisfying lives beyond “normal.” The short bus is my record of this odyssey and documents my search to help myself by learning from others once labeled abnormal who had learned to live in beautifully original ways. I meet Ashley, a deaf and blind girl who curses out her teachers in sign language; Kent, a performance artist with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who loves “yo mama” jokes and may just be the new Andy Kaufman; Jeff, an obsessive eccentric whom society would label autistic, keeps unadorned lists that describe his world in unexpectedly moving ways. These people confirm my belief that “normal” is a state that no one actually visits. Everyone, I discover, must embrace even their most radical differences. The Short Bus is a rebellious, funny, and incredibly colorful investigation of life lived happily outside the lines.