Brad Cohen's Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me The Teacher I Never Had

Thanks to my friend Wendy, we woke up bright and early on Sunday morning, September 25th and I had a live TV interview on the set of the NBC affiliate in St. Louis. At first I thought it didn't go well, but then when I watched it, the results were very good! Randy Jackson did the 5-minute interview where we talked about my experiences of living with TS in the St. Louis community and then we talked about what life is like now as a 2nd grade teacher. At the end of the interview, we discussed "Front of the Class." On the way out of the studio, the producer told us he had already gotten calls about how good the interview was. Thank you Wendy for setting this up and thanks to KSDK Channel 5 in St. Louis!

After the book signing on September 24th at Barnes and Noble in Clayton, I was told it was the largest book signing of the year. I could not believe the amount of people that were there. The amount of support they showed was great. Once again, I saw a lot of faces from my past, but there were also people who have heard about "Front of the Class" and wanted a signed copy.

The Community Relations Manager, Carrie, was GREAT! She made our experience so special. It was nice to see all the support from my home town! As you can see by the pictures above, we weren't clowning around....This was serious business!

My book signing at my mom's house turned out great! Friends and family got together to celebrate the success of "Front of the Class." I had a chance to speak to the 50 people about the book and then we all headed over to Barnes and Noble for a public book signing.

On September 23rd, I had a chance to speak to the Tourette Syndrome Association of St. Louis. In attendance were over 70 people with TS, parents, doctors, teachers and more. I gave my speech about overcoming the odds that were placed in front of me and how I kept that positive attitude and won the game of life! Afterwards, I signed books for everyone. This was a great event! Thanks for inviting me!

Chapter 11 Bookstore in Sandy Springs welcomed "Front of the Class" on September 20th. We had a very nice turn out as a lot of my friends and people I haven't seen in a long time came out for the night. We also had some great press in the Atlanta Journal Constitution so there were also some people who were just interested in the book.

On September 18th, I had my favorite book signing! I had a reunion with my former students from Mountain View Elementary. I was so excited to see how they have grown up over the years. My first 2nd grade class students are now Juniors in High School. It was great to sign their books.....my book could not be successful with out all of their support. Getting to know these kids and their families has been a highlight of being a teacher for the past 10 years. The scary part is that some of them are taller than me!

It was New Local Author's Day on September 17th and I headed over to Barnes and Noble at Cumberland in Atlanta, GA. I was given a nice location at the front of the store and Nancy and I waited patiently for people to arrive and all of the sudden, the line began. There were a bunch of people that I knew who came out for their books to be signed and I also got some people I have never met before who heard of me on the radio and in the newspapers. That was exciting!

We stayed for about 2 hours then packed up and left. The Community Relations Manager at this location was April, and she was GREAT. Thanks for a great author visit!

On September 15th, Inside Edition with Deborah Norville did a story on "Front of the Class." Kim Dean (as seen in the picture above) did a great job as the reporter as she visited my classroom and chatted with some of my students.

If you would like to see the 3 minute clip, click on my agents website and scroll down to the end of my section. http://www.martinliterarymanagement.com/film%20rights.htm

Lisa Wysocky(co-writer), Me, Sharlene Martin(literary agent), Anthony Flacco (author of Tiny Dancer and the writer my screenplay proposal). We are at Dutton's Bookstore in Beverly Hills for a book signing.


Nancy and I at a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Carlsbad, CA.

While in LA, I had a chance to do a few book signings, one at Barnes and Noble and another for the Tourette Syndrome Association of Southern California.

Speaking at the Event with my dad and Diane to the side.

Brad and Lisa showing off the book!














Nancy and I signing the books and my brother and I with the famous "Cookie Cake!"

The Atlanta Book Signing was simply amazing. What else could I ask for then most of my favorite people together with me celebrating the release of the book. In attendance were about 150 people. This was the first time everyone got a chance to see that I wasn't lying, I really did publish a book!

UPDATE- Be sure to check out my new website for PR! This includes a lot of new information.
www.frontoftheclass-pr.com

And don't forget the old one: www.frontoftheclassbook.com

Cheers

People Magazine has written a story on me and my book. It will be in the September 12, 2005 issue which actually hits stores and homes around September 2nd.

Working with People Magazine has been an amazing experience. They were great to work with and really cared about publishing a quality article with good pictures.

The photographer spent over 12 hours with me in my classroom and after school with Nancy and me. Nancy had the opportunity to work with a makeup/hair stylist, and both of us worked with a stylist for our clothes. It's truly amazing that the photographer took 100 rolls of film of me and they only used 3 pictures. Marc Asnin did a great job taking the pictures and his assistant Rod was good too. Thanks!

I hope you get a chance to read the People Magazine article. I'm very happy with what they did.

Never in my life did I think People Magazine would want my story. I'm grateful to them for helping me spread awareness for Tourette Syndrome, my book, and me!

Cheers

I am very happy to announce that my book is officially hitting book stores across America. I'm excited to share my story with so many people. You can buy it online or in your favorite book store now. Keep an eye out on my website to see when I might be visiting a city near you!

Thanks to all my friends and family who have supported me over the past 4 years as I have worked to publish a book.

I'm excited for the journey that is ahead of me and I'm even more excited to share my experiences with all of you as we celebrate together!

Cheers