Enjoy these books about paralympic athletes.
The hard parts: a memoir of courage and triumph DB 119093
"Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine in the shadow of Chernobyl seemingly with the odds stacked against her. She came into the world with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias. Relinquished to the orphanage system by birth parents daunted by the staggering cost of what would be their child's medical care, Oksana encountered numerous abuses, some horrifying. Salvation came at age seven when Gay Masters, an unmarried American professor who saw a photo of the little girl and became haunted by her eyes, waged a two-year war against stubborn adoption authorities to rescue Oksana from her circumstances. In America, Oksana endured years of operations that included a double leg amputation. Still, how could she hope to fit in when there were so many things making her different? As it turned out, she would do much more than fit in. Determined to prove herself and fueled by a drive to succeed that still smoldered from childhood, Oksana triumphed in not just one sport but four winning against the world's best in elite rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and road cycling competitions. Now considered one of the world's top athletes, she is the recipient of seventeen Paralympic medals, the most of any US athlete of the Winter Games, Paralympic or Olympic."
Halfway home: my life 'til now by Ronan Tynan DB 55490
Autobiography by a member of the Irish Tenors. Born in 1960 with a congenital leg deformity that led to a double amputation while Ronan was in college, he nevertheless became an accomplished horseman, a Paralympic gold medal winner, and a medical doctor before beginning his singing career.
Fire in my eyes: an American warrior's journey from being blinded on the battlefield to gold medal victory DB 86882
Memoir of a former Navy SEAL blinded during his deployment in Afghanistan. Snyder discusses his combat experience, his recovery after losing his sight on the battlefield in 2011, and the competitive swimming that led him to win a gold medal at the London Paralympic Games in 2012.
Always climb higher! by Jeff Pagels DB 80208
Paralympian Pagels discusses being paralyzed in a 1984 tree-cutting accident, his recovery, becoming involved in wheelchair sports, and eventually going to the Paralympics in Albertville, France, and winning gold medals. Explains how he then went on to climb mountains using a specialized chair.
Wheels of courage: how paralyzed veterans from World War II invented wheelchair sports, fought for disability rights, and inspired a nation by David Davis DBC 11662
The story of the the founding of the Paralympic Games. Drawing on the words of World War II veterans, stories, and memories, David Davis has crafted a narrative of survival, resilience, and triumph for sports fans and athletes, history buffs and military veterans, and people with and without disabilities.