eBook - ePub

The Gymnast

Name: The Gymnast
ISBN: 9781977278067

Disability, Sport, and Romance Memoir

Patrick J. Bird,

English
ePUB (mobile friendly)
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - ePub

The Gymnast

Disability, Sport, and Romance Memoir

Patrick J. Bird,

About this book

The Gymnast might have been an “everyman” memoir: Patrick grew up hard and
fast in the New York of the 1950s and ’60s. He found a sport and then a career
he was passionate about. Found love, raised a family.   

Except The Gymnast isn’t any old coming-of-age tale. Patrick
contracted polio, and one of his legs atrophied because of it. He became the
boy with the “repulsive leg, ” as he called it, and for a long time, he didn’t
believe he’d have a normal life.  

With grit and dedication (and lots of luck), 
Patrick forged the life he wanted. He successfully competed on Big Ten and NCAA
championship gymnastics teams and coached the sport at the collegiate level. He
earned a PhD with an emphasis in exercise science. After a turbulent romance, he
married his childhood sweetheart, and they raised three children.   

Humorous and sad, heartwarming as much as it is heart-wrenching, The
Gymnast follows a unique thread that weaves together disability, sport, and
romance. Few stories talk about disabled people dealing with sex, romance, 
bullying, and competing successfully at the highest level of sport. Patrick may
have grown up different, but his compelling story will resonate with every
reader.  

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Yes, you can access The Gymnast by Patrick J. Bird in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Science Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.