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  • American Snake Pit

  • Hope, Grit, and Resilience in the Wake of Willowbrook
  • Written by: Daniel J. Tomasulo
  • Narrated by: Tom Askin
  • Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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American Snake Pit

Written by: Daniel J. Tomasulo
Narrated by: Tom Askin
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Publisher's Summary

"We have a situation that borders on a snake pit." - Robert F. Kennedy  

In 1987, following a public outcry about its questionable medical practices, Staten Island's Willowbrook State School for people with intellectual disabilities closed its doors for good.

Flat broke and almost finished with graduate school, Dan Tomasulo - now a core faculty member at Columbia University's Spirituality Mind Body Institute - was hired to relocate Willowbrook's most severely disabled inhabitants into a groundbreaking community-based group home. 

American Snake Pit is the story of the disregarded souls who ended up in Tomasulo's care; of the eccentric, resilient staff who helped make such a momentous success possible; and, most of all, of one man's persistent struggle to give voices to those who could not advocate for themselves.
©2018 Daniel Tomasulo (P)2018 Daniel Tomasulo
Biographies & Memoirs
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Profile Image for Theresa S.

Loved It!

I found this true story engrossing & liked the way the narrative progressed. It drew me in & I felt a range of emotions as we saw the developments that occured with the clients that lived at Walden House. This is a story of hope, positivity, true determination & grit!

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