The first time I ever heard of Kyle Maynard, I was sitting on the couch watching Oprah with my roommate. While he shared his story with the queen of talk, I found that his story was as tender as it was inspirational.
If you haven't heard of Maynard, he is a wrestler for the University of Georgia and was born with congenital amputation - an unfortunate birth defect that leaves arms and legs extremely short. Victims of the condition will never grow taller than 4 feet.
Maynard has defied almost all odds, however, and has become a successful and talented athlete. His story is truly amazing.
In his touching autobiography/memoir, Maynard tells of his triumphs despite his trials, aided by the encouragement of his family, his strong Christian faith, dedicated and inspiring coaches, and his determination to not let anything hold him back.
In his New York Times best-seller, "No Excuses," Maynard tells us of trumping his challenges all while living a "no-excuses" lifestyle, hence the name of his book.
All of us have faced an uphill battle, but Maynard's story helps us appreciate countless things we take for granted, as well as appreciate the discipline of a disabled athlete who has not allowed anything to stand in the way of his success.
A champion wrestler after 35 consecutive defeats, Maynard writes of his seemingly endless problems as an athlete and shares his inspirational energy with us as we watch a replay of his childhood and early career as a wrestler.
If you're like me, and don't know the first thing about wrestling, Maynard does a fine job of explaining, in detail, the ins and outs of the sport.
All the chapters begin with a quote from Maynard or from another inspiring athlete who has influenced Maynard. The quotes tell of overcoming diversity, the importance of values, self-discipline, achieving your dreams and many catchy analogies for applying competitive sports principles to everyday life.
Maynard boasts many things besides his champion-wrestler status and rightly so; he has received the President's Award for Courage from the Humanitarian Hall of Fame, the ESPY Award for Best Athlete with a Disability and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The only thing I didn't love about this book was the uneven writing balance. Throughout many parts of the book, I felt as if I was reading a speech and not a story. The flow was somewhat choppy in some areas, and the editors should have fixed these writing problems and typographical errors before the book went to print.
Criticism aside, the story is so inspirational the writing style doesn't make a difference. I hope he writes another book later in his adult life and continues to share his motivating zest for life with people all over the world.
'No Excuses'
4 out of 5 pitchforks
Author: Kyle Maynard.
Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc
Price: $16.95
Reach the reporter at: jessica.douglas@asu.edu.
