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The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph



by
Oksana Masters

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Imprint
Scribner (Adult)
ISBN
9781982185503
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Discrimination: Ableism , Illustrations/Images: Nudity/Partial Nudity , Language: Strong Language , Sexual Content: Contact Between Adult and Minor , Violence: Child Abuse , Violence: Domestic/Physical Abuse , Violence: Self-Harm Reference/Discussion , Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape Reference/Discussion , Violence: Suicide Reference/Discussion
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JLG Category

Sports High

Oksana Masters, the United States’ most decorated winter Paralympic or Olympic athlete, tells her jaw-dropping story of triumphing over extraordinary Chernobyl disaster-caused physical challenges to create a life that, by example, challenges everyone to push through what is holding them back.

Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine—in the shadow of Chernobyl—seemingly with the world against her. She was born with one kidney, a partial stomach, six toes on each foot, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias.

Relinquished to the orphanage system by birth parents daunted by the staggering cost of what would be their child’s medical care, Oksana encountered numerous abuses, some horrifying. Salvation came at age seven when Gay Masters, an unmarried American professor who saw a photo of the little girl and became haunted by her eyes, waged a two-year war against stubborn adoption authorities to rescue Oksana from her circumstances.

In America, Oksana endured years of operations that included a double leg amputation. Still, how could she hope to fit in when there were so many things making her different?

As it turned out, she would do much more than fit in. Determined to prove herself and fueled by a drive to succeed that still smoldered from childhood, Oksana triumphed in not just one sport but four—winning against the world’s best in elite rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and road cycling competitions. Now considered one of the world’s top athletes, she is the recipient of seventeen Paralympic medals, the most of any US athlete of the Winter Games, Paralympic or Olympic.

This is Oksana’s astonishing story of journeying through a series of dark tunnels—and how, with her mother’s love, she finally found her way into the light. Her message to anyone who doesn’t fit in: you can find a place where you excel—where you have worth.

Full-color photo insert.
 

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Discrimination: Ableism , Illustrations/Images: Nudity/Partial Nudity , Language: Strong Language , Sexual Content: Contact Between Adult and Minor , Violence: Child Abuse , Violence: Domestic/Physical Abuse , Violence: Self-Harm Reference/Discussion , Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape Reference/Discussion , Violence: Suicide Reference/Discussion

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

336

Trim Size

9" x 6"

Dewey

B

AR

0: points 0

Genre

Nonfic

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

May 2023

Book Genres

Autobiography/Biography, Sports

Topics

Oksana Master (1989– ). Ukraine. Athletes with disabilities. Ukrainian Americans. Intercountry adoption. Trauma. Mothers and daughters. Sports and recreation. Rowing. Cross-country skiing. Road cycling. Paralympic Games.

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Grades 9 & Up
Sports High
For Grades 9 & Up

High school sports enthusiasts will love this category, which includes fiction and nonfiction titles that cover the action and excitement of a wide array of sports, the stories and struggles of athletes who have attained great success, and inside looks at the games teens love to watch and play. Action, excitement and struggles will be found in each of the 12 books provided.

12 books per Year
$259.20 per Year
Interests
Diversity,Fiction,High Interest/Reluctant Reader,Nonfiction,Biographies,Novels,Realistic Fiction,History
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Sports High
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