Why This Project Matters
How do think you would have turned out if a hand grenade blew off an arm and both your legs when you were 25 years old?
​
Would you have had the grit to become an eternal optimist, the youngest Secretary of State in Georgia history, then achieve your lifelong dream of becoming a US Senator?
​
Max Cleland did.
​
If you'd lost that Senate seat - a war hero portrayed in attack ads as soft on homeland security - lost your fiancé and income, diagnosed with PTSD in an ever-downward spiral, could you have bounced back from that?
​
Max Cleland did.
​
This project recounts the remarkable survival story of a man who, like most of us, had his demons, yet inspired thousands.
Max Cleland was a powerful source of inspiration, who embodied the concept that 'one heart with courage is a majority.'
Martin Sheen, Emmy & Golden Globe Award Winning Actor
He would call – 'What's happening, Baby?' and every time I talked to him, he made me feel like he was one of my best friends. Three hundred people would tell you the same.
Susan Ryan, Curator, Stetson University Max Cleland Collection
One of the greatest gifts any of us ever received was a voice at the other end of a phone, with a sixth sense to call when you needed to hear him the most, saying 'Hey brother, it’s Max.'