Meet the Mighty.

Mighty : Finding the Strength to Survive

Mighty is a heartwarming and entertaining memoir of survival against insurmountable odds. Matt Sterling presents an illuminating look at the obstacles inherent in living life with a permanent disability. His compelling story reminds us to keep moving forward in the hope that better days are always on the horizon.

The book begins with Matt's move to New York City to start a career in advertising just one year after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed into law in 1990. Matt chronicles his day-to-day life and reveals the frustrations of beginning a new life in a mostly inaccessible city, including his challenges finding an apartment, starting a new job, using public transportation, and dating. Readers travel with Matt around the world in his role as a salesman for Time, Inc., then to San Francisco during the height of the dot-com boom, and finally to Los Angeles, where he meets his wife, Carrie and together they begin a family.

Matt describes the joy of becoming a father, the pain of job elimination, and the loss of his own Dad to dementia. During the pandemic, Matt contracted a serious MRSA infection that kept him in the hospital on life support for four months. Readers are transported into the ICU and the rehab center where Matt stages his battle to regain his strength, rejoin his family and build a new life.

Mighty is a vivid and hopeful book about life’s challenges and an inside look at the struggles of a disabled person. A case study for anyone dealing with adversity and searching for the strength to survive the next challenge.

Photo by Matt Brown

About The Author

Matt Sterling was born in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1969. Diagnosed at birth with a permanent disability, he used braces and crutches to walk and transitioned to a wheelchair in grade school. Despite societal stereotypes, the wheelchair provided a way to keep up with the other kids.
Matt began his education in a private grade school in Sylvania, Ohio, as public schools had stairs and no elevator access. To accommodate students with special needs, the district provided a specific school for the disabled. Matt's parents felt strongly he would benefit from what is called mainstreaming: learning and socializing alongside able-bodied kids.
In search of a warmer climate, Matt's family moved to Bradenton, Florida. Matt was elected class president three of the four years he attended Bayshore High. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the University of Florida.
After graduation in 1991, Matt was hired at LINTAS, an ad agency in New York City. In June of 1994, Matt accepted a job at TIME Magazine. During his long career with Time Inc. as a sales and marketing executive, Matt traveled extensively and lived in NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Once settled in LA, Matt met his wife Carrie Lane, a tenured Professor at Cal State Fullerton. Matt and Carrie have a son Frank who is in grade school near their home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
In 2021, Matt was diagnosed with a rare MRSA infection, ended up on life support and almost lost his life. He spent four months in the hospital and through comprehensive rehab found the strength to survive.

Introduction

TIm and Amy excited to torture their new brother.

My fan club: Grandma Dora Sterling and Grandma Ruth Paden

The Tale of Tudor City

Read the book to understand why this photo is hilarious.

The joy of moving into my first apartment

The Wild World of Advertising

Fielding a call in my NYC cube with Mike Green and Bob Hagerman

Aboard the helicopter parked on the deck of The Capitalist Tool, the Forbes family yacht. Some days working as an Assistant Media Planner on IBM were better than others.

Last of the Mad Men

Saying goodbye to Bill after my last meeting in the Time and Life Building

TIME's 75th Anniversary Gala at Radio City. My brush with greatness.

Around the World in Nine Days

The great Andy Bush and I in front of the Coal (Ass) Hole in London

Making a sales call on the Queen

High on a Hill, It Calls to Me

My New Beetle

Jeanne and Jen, the eCompany SF Marketing crew

The Thrill of Driving

My first car a 1977 Ford Econoline in two tone green.

Toyota Sienna parked in Zion, purchased from a hospital bed.

A Whole New Ballgame

eCompany Now Launch Event

My experiment with hair gel, Jen and The Barenaked Ladies

An Adventure on Cobblestone

Fritz and I enjoying a Pilsner to celebrate his 40th in Prague

Mom and The Hottensteins in Prague.

Back in the New York Groove

View from my apartment at One River Place in Hell's Kitchen

Jeff Huter and I on the Mean Streets during the blackout

On the Road Again

Somewhere in Arizona

Mom Taking Care of Business in Memphis

Finding Love Late in Life

Carrie said yes at Commander's Palace in New Orleans

Wedding Day at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills

Becoming Frank's Dad

Meeting my new buddy

The dynamic duo

Losing My Dad to Dementia

Dad carried me everywhere when I was a kid.

I miss him every day.

You're Going to Catch Pneumonia

My first pneumonia adventure.

Me thinking this would be the last time I would be in the hospital.

Cheating Death

First time on a respirator and growing a full beard.

Surviving Shawshank

My OT Charlie and RT Lady Carmel

Recovering from surgery

The Strength to Move On

Mother's Day 2024 in Frank's 4th Grade classroom

A happy crew at homePhoto by Matt Brown

“I've known Matt for decades, but I didn't know his story. I just knew he was cool, funny, smooth and a little bad-ass. He's all those things in this book, but he's also a guy who has seen some crazy stuff, done some crazy things and been way too hard on himself for all of it. I guess it's a disability story. But the disability he mostly writes about is the same one so many of us have: Anxiety"
Joel SteinAuthor of In Defense of Elitism: Why I'm Better Than You and You're Better Than Someone Who Didn't Buy This Book
Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity
Former TIME Columnist and writer for New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Businessweek, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Reporter, GQ, Esquire, The New Yorker, Food & Wine, Town & Country, Los Angeles Magazine

"Having known Matt since he was a student at the University of Florida, I must say the title of his book is a little misleading. From my perspective, Matt didn’t find strength, he was born with it.
Matt’s book read much like The Odyssey with his adventures revealing how he used his strength, guile and good humor to fuel a successful career in advertising and publishing.
His journey begins in New York to start a new job at an ad agency after graduating from UF. Then his career takes him to San Francisco back to New York and finally to Los Angeles. Along the way, Matt meets his spouse and becomes a father. A story in which Matt reveals the joy that he brings to life. A good lesson for all.
Mighty: Finding the Strength to Survive is a fun book. It’ll make you laugh and cry. It’ll make you more informed about advertising/media marketing and life. It will teach you how to survive in a wheelchair. Above all else, it will inspire you. I hope it brings you the same joy it brought me..”
Dr. John SutherlandProfessor and Chair EmeritusDepartment of AdvertisingUniversity of Florida

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