Book Reviews: Two Books Full of Inspiration – Quiet Strength and Iron Heart

aarmau@gmail.comDecember 14, 2011book review

I have not posted a book review in a long time. I have not stopped reading, but rather just have not had the urge to write about what I have been reading. I figured that it is about time for me to share. I thought I would share two books that I have finished recently that I believe are worth the time to read.

The first book is Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. This book has been available for a few years and I know many people have read this book. I became intrigued by Tony Dungy when I started reading his latest book: Uncommon Life: Daily Challenge. I have been changed by this book and now am going back and reading his other books. Quiet Strength takes an inside look at Tony and how he ended up coaching his way to the Colts and Super Bowl victory. This memoir provides a glimpse into a man who sticks to his morals and faith to make the right decisions even when they don’t seem right at the time. I bookmarked at least 30 pages from this book to use as coaching reminders, life reminders, quotes, and just ideas to live by. I found this to be a great story and inspirational. It reminded me to stay true to myself and not to get persuaded by others who think they know best. I highly recommend along with the hundreds of reviewers on Amazon.

The second book I recommend that is another source of inspiration is Iron Heart by Brian Boyle.

This book blew my mind. I cannot believe how the human body and human will/determination/toughness allowed Brian to not only survive, but to once again be competitive. I first heard about Brian from Bart Yasso when he spoke at the QC Marathon pasta dinner. Then another teacher/runner read the book and I just had to read it as well. This book tells an amazing journey. It serves as a great reminder to never give up and that anything is within grasp if you want it bad enough.

Here is the book description

Iron Heart is the first-person account of his ordeal and his miraculous comeback.

On the way home from swim practice, eighteen-year-old athlete Brian Boyle’s future changed in an instant when a dump truck plowed into his Camaro. He was airlifted to a shock-trauma hospital. He had lost sixty percent of his blood, his heart had moved across his chest, and his organs and pelvis were pulverized. He was placed in a medically-induced coma. When Brian finally emerged from the coma two months later, he had no memory of the accident. He could see and hear, but not move or talk. Unable to communicate to his doctors, nurses, or frantic parents, he heard words like “vegetable” and “nursing home.” If he lived, doctors predicted he might not be able to walk again, and certainly not swim. Then, miraculously, Brian clawed his way back to the living. First blinking his eyelids, then squeezing a hand, then smiling, he gradually emerged from his locked-in state. The former swimmer and bodybuilder had lost one hundred pounds.
 

Iron Heart is the first-person account of his ordeal and his miraculous comeback. With enormous fortitude he learned to walk, then run, and eventually, to swim. With his dream of competing in the Ironman Triathlon spurring him on, Brian defied all odds, and three and a half years after his accident, crossed the finish line in Kona, Hawaii. Brian’s inspiring journey from coma to Kona is brought to life in his acclaimed memoir.

These two books are my latest reads. What have you been reading that is worth time to check out?

 

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