Paul Weigel

Kathryn interviews Author, Attorney Andrew Bridge.Andrew Bridge’s bestselling memoir, Hope’s Boy, tells the story of his survival after being taken from his mentally ill mother and left to foster care. He was first confined at one of our country’s most notorious children’s institutions, MacLaren Hall. Now, he chronicles his role in the longest-running, most bitterly fought mental health lawsuit in American history. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Bridge joined the small team of civil rights lawyers representing the children of the Eufaula Adolescent Center, a violent and secretive institution in the rural South, against the State of Alabama. His work has been featured in The NY Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Showtime, The Observer, The CBS Early Show, NBC Nightly News, Time Magazine, PBS, Psychology Today, NPR, and Observer Magazine.Kathryn also interviews Author Paul Weigel.Throughout his isolated childhood, with distant and detached parents, losing his college sweetheart in a horrible tragedy, and enduring the unexpected death of his father, Paul Weigel spent his life in despair. However, everything changed when his daughter was born. From day one, he and his daughter shared an incredible bond. She was a constant source of peace and inspiration to him, and he was determined to give her the love and security he’d never had. His life and the family that he’d dreamed about seemed to be finally getting on track—that is, until a devastating cancer diagnosis. Choosing hope and determined to show his daughter true strength and power he decided to face the ups and downs of his illness and treatment with courage. He trained for and completed in an Ironman triathlon within six months of finishing chemotherapy, and he continued to be a dedicated father, especially through a divorce that happened shortly after. He is now a six-time Ironman triathlete and a college professor.