"Lowell Handler has Tourette's syndrome, a disorder characterized by exaggerated facial tics, sudden jerking movements of the body and limbs, and explosive public outbursts, usually in the form of expletives and racial epithets. Although he has made a name as an acclaimed photojournalist, Handler has often seen himself as an outsider - a social outcast.

With courage and candor, he recalls the difficulties he suffered growing up; the confusion he experienced when doctors misdiagnosed his bizarre behavior as a psychological aberration; and finally how, restless and despairing, he embarked on a quest for answers. Camera in hand, he set out on a journey through the less than savory parts of America.

From a transvestite bar in Tampa to a flop house in New Orleans to a community health center in New York he met a variety of people who, like himself, didn't conform to the standards of conventional society."--BOOK JACKET.