Book Review: The Hard Parts

 

The Hard Parts

A Memoir of Courage and Triumph

by Oksana Masters

Pub Date 21 Feb 2023 | Archive Date 21 Feb 2023

 Scribner 

 Biographies & Memoirs

I am reviewing a copy of The Hard Parts through Scribner and Netgalley:

Oksana Masters by no means had an easy life, nor an easy start to life.  She was born in the Ukraine in the shadows of Chernobyl, and it seemingly seemed the world was against her.  She was born with six toes on each foot one kidney, a partial stomach, webbed fingers, no right bicep, and no thumbs. Her left leg was six inches shorter than her right, and she was missing both tibias.

She had been 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.

After coming to America, Oksana would endure years of operations which included a double leg amputation.  She wondered how she could ever fit in, as she had so many things that made her different.

But Oksana would more than fit in.  She was determined to prove herself and had a strong 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.

The Hard Parts is Oksana's story of triumph, of proving to herself and to the world.  It's the story of a Mother's love and a daughter's determination.  This book is a reminder to anyone who doesn’t fit in: you can find a place where you excel where you have worth.

I give The Hard Parts five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!