• Francesco Clark and his skin care company have been featured in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, W, The New York Times Magazine, Self, Fitness, People, and more.
• Clark is an Ambassador and spokesperson for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and continues to make appearances on its behalf.
• As with Michael J. Fox’s Always Looking Up, memoirs about optimism and overcoming adversity have wide appeal. 

“Walking Papers is moving, funny, and inspiring—a gift to any person dealing with a chronic illness or condition.”
—Michael J. Fox, author of Always Looking Up

Francesco Clark was a 24-year-old with a bright future when he went to the Hamptons for the weekend. A nocturnal dive into the pool’s shallow end changed everything.

Paralyzed from the neck down, doctors announced that he’d never move from his bed or breathe without assistance. But Francesco fought back. Within days, he was breathing on his own. His father, a doctor himself, investigated every opportunity for experimental treatment, and Francesco used all resources available to speed his recovery. To avoid having his lungs suctioned, he sang, loudly, for hours. And that was just the beginning.

Francesco’s accident left him unable to sweat out toxins, leaving his skin less than healthy. So Francesco and his father began to experiment, and Clark’s Botanicals skin care line was born. It is now sold nationwide in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Fred Segal, and featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and other magazines.

Seven years after the accident, Francesco continues to improve, and in addition to running a thriving business, he is now an Ambassador for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Walking Papers is the inspirational story of how, with individual determination and unconditional family support, Clark overcame extreme adversity and achieved an extraordinary triumph.