During the first half of the twentieth century, epidemics of polio caused fear and panic, killing some who contracted the disease, leaving others with varying degrees of paralysis. The defeat of polio became a symbol of modern technology's ability to reduce human suffering. But while the story of polio may have seemed to end on April 12, 1956, when the Salk vaccine was declared a success, millions of people worldwide are polio survivors. In this dazzling memoir, Anne Finger interweaves her personal experience with polio with a social and cultural history of the disease. Anne contracted polio as a very young child, just a few months before the Salk vaccine became widely available. After six months of hospitalization, she returned to her family's home in upstate New York, using braces and crutches. In her memoir, she writes about the physical expansiveness of her childhood, about medical attempts to "fix" her body, about family violence, job discrimination, and a life rich with political activism, writing, and motherhood. She also writes an autobiography of the disease, describing how it came to widespread public attention during a 1916 epidemic in New York in which immigrants, especially Italian immigrants, were scapegoated as being the vectors of the disease. She relates the key roles that Franklin Roosevelt played in constructing polio as a disease that could be overcome with hard work, as well as his ties to the nascent March of Dimes, the prototype of the modern charity. Along the way, we meet the formidable Sister Kenny, the Australian nurse who claimed to have found a revolutionary treatment for polio and who was one of the most admired women in America at mid-century; a group of polio survivors who formed the League of the Physically Handicapped to agitate for an end to disability discrimination in Depression-era relief projects; and the founders of the early disability-rights movement, many of them polio survivors who, having been raised to overcome obstacles and triumph over their disabilities, confronted a world filled with barriers and impediments that no amount of hard work could overcome. Anne Finger writes with the candor and the skill of a novelist, and shows not only how polio shaped her life, but how it shaped American cultural experience as well.

An incredible story of Johnny Agar, born with cerebral palsy and whom doctors thought would never walk, overcoming the odds to compete in Ironman triathlons. Featured on ESPN, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and other media outlets, Johnny delivers a moving memoir that is a testament to the power of family, faith, and extraordinary courage. Johnny’s story shows the impact of a life lived to its fullest, from the first difficult steps in training, to becoming a brand ambassador for global apparel company Under Armour. He now serves as an inspiration for not only other professional athletes, but for anyone facing their own impossible mile. Come walk a mile in Johnny’s shoes, and realize, as Johnny did, you never walk alone, and anything is possible, if you’ll just take on life one step at a time.

" Diana Warwick, beautiful, charming and intelligent but hotheaded, becomes embroiled in a political as well as a social scandal. She says: "We women are the verbs passive of the alliance, we have to learn, and if we take to activity, with the best intentions, we conjugate a frightful disturbance. We are to run on lines, like the steam-trains, or we come to no station, dash to fragments. I have the misfortune to know I was born an active. I take my chance." Her efforts to advance her husband, through cultivating a friendship with Cabinet Minister Lord Dannisburgh, lead to scandal and alienation from her husband, Augustus Warwick. Her intention to live "independently" through writing is initially successful, but her involvement in politics brings her to grief, both personal and public."

An inspirational memoir by a man who became an elite wheelchair athlete after suffering a catastrophic spinal injury and who finally walked again 25 years after his accident. After two years of intense physical therapy following his crippling accident, John Maclean set a new course for himself when his father encouraged him to embrace his new reality and asked: "How far can you go?" Inspired, Maclean became the first paraplegic to complete the Ironman World Championship and swim the English Channel before going on to win a silver medal for rowing at the 2008 Paralympic Games--yet these achievements did not come easy or on his first try. But with fierce tenacity, determination, and the love of family and friends Maclean was able to see each dream realized. Yet he longed for one more victory: to walk on the beach with his family, holding his wife's hand. Through a radical therapy, he retrained his mind and challenged conventional thinking to walk again after 25 years in a wheelchair. HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?is his amazing story.

When a beautiful blue horse asks Rin to go for a swim, Rin doesn’t realize how much his life is about to change. Blue is unlike anyone else Rin has ever met, and the magic of the fae, and of this particular kelpie, is wondrous, but deadly. Rin learns too late he might be in for a swim he won’t survive.

Runners will love these inspirational stories about their sport -- the camaraderie, the self-discipline, the energy and endorphins they enjoy, the self-discovery. Includes stories on swimming and cycling for triathletes too. When runners aren't running, they are talking about running, planning their next run, shopping for running... This book contains 101 stories from everyday and famous runners... telling their stories to other runners... about how running has improved their lives, recovering from injuries, challenging themselves, and includes amazing stories of marathons, camaraderie, and the natural high that comes from this popular sport. Plenty of stories for triathletes too, covering swimming and cycling.