Introduction
Mallory Weggeman is an accomplished American Paralympic swimmer born on March 26, 1989. She narrates her success story in an admirable book adored with a swanky golden title that reflects her many gold-medal wins in swimming competitions. Weggeman’s story is rooted in a major predicament she found herself in at the age of 18 (Weggeman, 2021). She had visited a doctor who performed an epidural injection on her to help manage back pain. However, in a pretty sad turn of events, an error occurred during the medical procedure that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Sadly, Weggeman’s life took a sharp turn as she went from being ready for her freshman year at Gardner-Webb University to not being able to walk. The experience devastated her as she had not imagined living with a disability.
Discussion
However, two and a half months after the incident, her oldest sister, Christin, opted to take her to the 2008 United States Paralympic Team Trials at the University of Minnesota. Weggeman loved swimming and was at one time the school captain of her swim team at high school in the Minneapolis rural town of Eagan. At the trials, she stared at the athletes as all of them had different physical or mental disabilities. The athletes were competing for an opportunity to represent the United States on the global stage and she left there captivated. She told her sister that she was imagining how it would feel if she could be among the participants in four years. Somehow, that was the starting point for her dream after which she held a meeting with one of the club coaches from the University of Minnesota who enlisted her for training. In less than a week she had started to train as a Paralympic.
Before being disabled Weggeman relied mainly on her powerful leg kick in swimming. But now she had to start to swim afresh with no help from the legs and in it, ’s place was a series of starts and fits. In the initial stages of swimming, she could easily be beaten by 9-year-olds. Nonetheless, she kept improving and little by little her body started to adjust as she got used to using the upper part of the body to navigate in and out of the pool. Inside the swimming pool, she had to discover new ways how to stay buoyant in the water and generate momentum without using her legs. At the same time, she had to ensure she maintained the right state of mind. Eventually swimming was becoming a way of reconnecting with herself to the same cognitive state as before the injury.
During the first days of competing publicly, she could feel alone. She gradually grew more happy in her body and memorized all the things she could still do. In the book, she indicates that she swore to become somebody in whom other people could see themselves. Finally, Weggeman came to be a role model through which other disabled people could learn how to overwhelm their misfortunes. Weggeman (2021) describes a highly relatable and approachable narration of how she managed to overcome the difficulties and win 34 records at home and 15 records at world championships. Additionally, she ranked at the top in six of the seven Paralympic swimming competitions globally. She broke several world records, including the 400m freestyle, the 50m freestyle, and the 100m butterfly. Weggeman further severely damaged her left arm in 2014 after a devastating fall. She had to undergo two reconstructive surgeries and a prolonged rehabilitation period to regain her footing. Weggeman won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2019 World Paralympic Swimming Finals. The success added to her confidence level, independence, and resolute love leading to a successful marriage against all odds.
Weggeman published the book Limitless to inspire hope that notwithstanding different challenges in life, one should not give up. She indicates that society perceives disability as something that needs to be thought of with pity as the worst thing that can happen to humanity. In the book, it is clear that every person has an innate potential that society fails to recognize. Not only did she win on the global stage but managed to have a wonderful family life and succeed in business. The book captures the fear, and raw emotion brought up in her life story, which she turned into a positive mark in history. Weggeman (2021) majorly instills confidence that, at all times, there is a way to defeat difficulties in life. The author’s unexpected resilience and unbending pledge to excellence are deeply rooted in her steadfastness, faith, and absolute grit. Six key lessons can be drawn from the book. These include being able to redefine your parameters, being willing to fail, being conscious of the belief that is not sequential, embracing comeback, working with other people in the community, and writing your destiny (Weggeman, 2021). Essentially, each person should be able to deal with encounters, tags, or difficulties based on their terms.
However, the aspect of faith has not been well canvassed in the book. In most instances, Weggeman (2021) attributes her success to her determination and support system. Even as these are critical in helping her realize the victories, little effort is focused on the hand of God. She refers to aspects of Christianity in a few instances by referencing prayer and quotes the bible only once, specifically 1 Corinthians 13. Despite her doing a wedding in a church, she had previously lived together with her partner out of the dictates of Christianity.
Conclusion
In general, the book can be described as a striking memoir and a stunning read from start to finish. It is full of encouraging statements that can enable any person not to give up. Weggeman (2021) uses wise words to remind everybody that even though suffering in life is almost certain, joy can always be found, and people have a choice over their destiny. She wonderfully describes an exceptionally trying set of drawbacks she stood up against and what it took to conquer them. The story is narrated with benevolence, helping a reader to discern both her victories and heartbreaking lapses. Each chapter has news about persistence and comeback that does not patronize hardship. It is a perfect fit for any reader seeking to make sense of life changes, those interested to understand the Paralympic Games, and anybody desiring to have a smile on their face. At no point does the reader feel a sense of defeat out of hard work nor the need to feel sorry reader making it a great read for a person facing challenging times.
References
Weggemann, M. (2021). Limitless: The power of hope and resilience to overcome circumstance. Nelson Books, An Imprint of Thomas Nelson.