Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw (1)

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LAUGHING AT MY NIGHTMARE BY SHANE BURCAW

Reviewed by: Monica Marquez, Destiny Martinez, Sabrina McCrocklin & Jordan Wassenaar

Review:

(Firerock Productions/Contributed Photo)
Laughing at My Nightmare is a personal disability narrative by Shane Burcaw that gives a unique perspective of an adolescent who lacks agency in the face of adversity. Shane Burcaw shares his fears of being helpless and an outcast among his peers, something many young adults struggle with, as a result of his spinal muscular atrophy. His autobiography uses humor to mask the discomfort while approaching his stories and struggles. He explains the evolution of his blog and company stating, “Our mission was to encourage individuals to remain positive in the face of adversity through the use of humor…” (176). Shane’s story brings positivity and laughter into a narrative that that has full potential to be depressing and daunting, and by sharing his story he aims to bring the same optimism to other adolescents’ lives.
Comedy is a vessel for more serious themes and messages, and I found that using that device among adolescents is an efficient way to relay these themes of helplessness and anxiety. Comedy in the face of adversity is what I found to be the novel’s most prevalent theme. It wasn’t as though Shane was just using self-deprecating humor to make everyone else more comfortable about his disability, but it helped him accept the conditions of his life and find a way to bring happiness to him and others. Shane’s story is almost an exaggeration of adolescent struggles; he wants to “maintain ‘normalcy’ in the eyes of others”(171), he wants to be independent, he wants a girlfriend, and he wants to go away for college, but the difficulty of these desires are intensified by his disability. This helps put adolescent struggles into perspective, and shows the benefit of finding a written outlet (such as Shane’s blog) and coping strategy. The story shows anxiety and helplessness, and how Shane copes by finding the comedy in them. Moreover, the comedy and language in this novel is what makes it so successful in reaching adolescents.
Retrieved from: 1888pressrelease.com
The use of profanity in the novel is, at first, somewhat shocking, but it is used to the novel’s benefit rather than its detriment. The strong language within the book poses a potential problem within curriculum and being aimed for adolescents, but the truth is its language makes it more relatable to its audience. I found it entertaining and , in a sense, human. It isn’t used excessively and only adds to its conversational tone. It is more likely that a teen is going to identify and engage in a novel that doesn’t position itself above its audience. It is understandable that his use of words such as “orgasmic” and “bullshit” could be problematic within the classroom, but they are nothing new to a group of teenagers. Laughing at My Nightmare is a less capitalized take on adolescent fears and how to cope with them. It not only helps students understand those with disabilities or those who are different from themselves, but it tackles the idea that teens can embrace something that makes them different to be a positive aspect of their lives. With his quirky sense of humor and teenage profanity, Shane Burcaw brings to light the importance of comedy and positivity in the face of adversity.
Works Cited
Burcaw, Shane. Laughing at My Nightmare. Macmillan, 2014.

Biography:

Retrieved From: PublishersWeekly.
Photo by: Matt Carr
Shane Burcaw is a twenty-five-year-old writer and equal rights activist working to combat stereotypes about the differently abled. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on May 28, 1992. He started a blog seven years ago called “Laughing at My Nightmare” on a whim as a type of journal for him to write down and share his experiences living with muscular dystrophy. His followers began to grow by the thousands and he soon expanded from this and started a non-profit, wrote books, filmed documentaries, etc. All of his work is geared towards the YA community and his target audience is all children, not just those with a disability. He wants all children to become more informed about other people who are different from themselves and become more respectful and accepting of everyone. When he is not busy with school work or writing, he is doing work for the non-profit organization he runs with his cousin, Sarah. His non-profit is extremely important to him, and when Shane was asked what they do, Shane responded, “we teach kids about methods for living happier and effectively overcoming adversity. We also provide vital equipment to people living with muscular dystrophy.” Shane wants to make the world a happier place and one of the ways he feels he is able to accomplish this is through his non-profit.
retrived from:
 https://www.laughingatmynightmare.com/about-us
He launched his blog in 2011 and published his first novel, Laughing at My Nightmare, in 2014. He just finished working on a children’s book entitled, Not So Different,which is a picture book geared towards children. Not So Different is Shane’s first attempt at children’s literature, but both books aim to show readers that being disabled does not exclude one from living a happy life. When asked, Shane explains that his main goal is to, “teach the world that having a disability is not incompatible with happiness, love, success, and excitement.” In both of his books as well as his blog, Shane shows how he uses humor to help him cope with the challenges that come with growing up with spinal muscular atrophy. He hopes that his stories will not only amuse others, but also enlighten them and show them that it is possible to face adversity with a positive attitude.

He is currently working on a collection of essays entitled Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse, about society’s misconceptions about what it means to live with a disability and also continues to write on his blog. He has started a 5k run for his non-profit and has the run every year. You can participate here, or participate virtually here.

Works Cited

 laughingatmynightmare [Shane Burcaw]. Laughing At My Nightmare,

Instructional Resources:

Weebly - Blog Source for Students
“Weebly Is the Easiest Way to Create a Website, Store or Blog.” Weebly.com,
Inspiration Center - Business, Website and Marketing Inspiration, www.weebly.com/.
This is a free blog resource for teachers to build and create their own online classroom blogs for the instructional activity.

 Wix.com
“It All Starts with Your Stunning Website.” Free Website Builder, Official Wix
Blog, www. wix.com/.
This is a free blog resource for teachers to build and create their own classroom blogs for this instructional portion of the instructional activity.

 Google Classroom - Source for Students
Google Classrooms, Google, classroom.google.com/.
Most schools have begun implementing the use of Google Classrooms. This is a free resource for teachers to build and create their own online classroom discussions for the instructional activity.       

Sabrina’s Blog - Blog Source Example   
“From Carousel to Hunting Cap.” Catcher in the Rye with Miss
M, catcherintheryewithmissm.weebly.com/digital-unit-plan-template.html.
This is an example of a classroom blog for teachers that may need when they are creating their own classroom blogs.

 Info on Muscular Dystrophy
“Muscular Dystrophy | MD.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Apr. 2018,
This article provides a summary of the diagnosis, symptoms, and treatments of muscular dystrophy. Teachers should share some of the information with their students in order to obtain a better understanding of Shane’s diagnosis. This website also has summative videos that the teachers may present as visual material for the students.

 Shane's Website
Lamn. Laughing At My Nightmare INC., https://www.laughingatmynightmare.com/.
Getting to Know Shane and SarahShane Burcaw’s website offers the opportunity for both students and teachers to get to know more about Shane, his non-profit, and provides links to his blog as well as his video messages.

Q & A With Shane
“Getting to Know Shane and Sarah.” YouTube, uploaded by LAMNightmare, 2 September 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGX6FNlNv5c.
This video sheds light on Shane and Sarah’s comedic side as they answer questions about each other that are polled from their online followers, and the teachers are able to utilize this resource by highlighting some of the important messages of Shane’s book.

Shane's Blog
laughingatmynightmare [Shane Burcaw]. Laughing At My Nightmare,
http://laughingatmynightmare.tumblr.com/.
This is Shane’s Blog of which he refers to in the novel and continues to use daily. It’s a good visual reference for the book as well as for the assignment.


Instructional Activity: 

Lauging at my Nightmare: Writing Practice and Reflection through Blogging

Activity Preview:

This activity helps students identify central themes and writing techniques within a non-fiction text, as well as understand an author’s perspective and point of view. Due to the nature of a blog, students will also learn how to use technology to publish their own ideas/thoughts and receive feedback from others. For this activity, students will start a blog before they begin reading the novel, writing about a situation or hardship they faced but eventually overcame, and how they dealt with adversity. After students have completed their own blogs, they will have an opportunity to respond to the blogs of their classmates. Every week students will be provided a specific topic to write about and they will write one post and respond to two classmates per week. Students will have a chance to reflect on the work itself as well as how the book has changed their opinions or outlooks on life.

California Common Core Standards:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
    • Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5
    • Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6
    • Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.6
    • Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.3
    • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

    Resources and Preparation:

    • “Class Blog Example.” Classblog, jordanwassenaar.wixsite.com/classblog.
      • This is the classroom blog that was created for the instructional activity. This is also an example of what teachers may do in order to clearly outline the activity. 


    Instructional Plan:

    Retrived from:
    http://laughingatmynightmare.tumblr.com/
    1.    Blogs will be assigned on Mondays in response to last week’s reading. Blogs must be completed by Wednesday. Students have until Friday to respond to two of their classmates blog posts.
    2.    Blog length: 250-300 words
    3.    Guidelines for commenting on blogs:
    o   response must be a paragraph (5-8 sentences)
    o   be kind
    o   ask questions
    o   reflect on what your classmate has said


      Week 1: Write a personal narrative describing a difficult situation that you have dealt with in your lives. How did you deal with the hardship? Was there a positive outcome? Use details. Tell the story as if you were telling it to a group of friends. Include what lead to the situation, and how you solved it, if you were able to.


      Week 2: Explain what style and tone means when it comes to writing. What is Shane’s point of view when it comes to living with disabilities? What’s the purpose of his blog? Analyze how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of Shane’s writing.

      Week 3: Shane goes through a lot of difficult situations in his life. Pick a quote or passage from the book that you believe encompasses the theme of the novel. Explain why you think this quote sums up the central “message” of Shane’s work.

      Week 4: Analyze the impact of the authors’ writing choices and how they affected your reading of his story. Shane’s story is not told in a chronological way. How did this sporadic storytelling affect the way you read the book? How did the book “end” and how did this ending affect your opinion of the book? Last, what did you learn (from the book) about life, or about yourself? Did reading the book teach you anything about being different or living through hardships? Reflect.

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