"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."
Unsinkable
Return to the book list for titles beginning with 'u'.
Jessica Long, Boston, Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. ISBN 978-1-328-70725-3
The book tells the story of a little girl in an orphanage in Russia who was adopted by an American family and who went on to be in multiple Paralympic swimming medallist. A double amputee, she had the doll as a child with its feet cut off.
She describes how swimming has been life changing: “more than anything, I love being surrounded by water… I feel at home. I’m alive there. It gives me a sense of freedom – the freedom of not feeling disabled are limited. I used to say that swimming was my escape, but that’s not accurate. Swimming forced me to deal with the things I wanted to escape. It helps me work through a lot of feelings and frustrations… I find this thing I was made for and it was a relief.
The book gives an honest account of her struggles – the struggle to accept a bronze medal when she set her heart on gold and her struggles with faith. She describes growing up in a Christian family, being encouraged to believe but being left to make up her own mind. She sums up her faith: “I realized that God doesn’t promise to make everything better but he promises to be with me in every moment and every circumstance, ready to cover me in his endless grace. Becoming a Christian didn’t mean that everything would be easy-breezy from there on, but in my moments of doubt, I can draw on my faith to face each new challenge that life brings”.
In a powerful passage she admits “there are still days when I struggle with the whys of my life… But the fact of the matter is I was given this life… I know God has a purpose for me and that he is always there to help the pick up the pieces when I’m overwhelmed”.
The book gives an honest account of an extraordinary life.