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A 2024 Christopher Award Winner

A gutwrenching wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity sheer will and a great big dose of motherly love Jeannette Walls 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle

An inspirational and powerful memoir from the United Statess most decorated winter Paralympic or Olympic athlete The Hard Parts is Oksana Masterss gripping account of overcoming extraordinary Chernobyl disastercaused physical challenges to create a life that challenges everyone to push through what is holding them back

Oksana Masters was born in Ukrainein the shadow of Chernobylseemingly with the odds stacked against her She came into the world 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 childs 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 twoyear 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 fourwinning against the worlds best in elite rowing biathlon crosscountry skiing and road cycling competitions Now considered one of the worlds top athletes she is the recipient of seventeen Paralympic medals the most of any US athlete of the Winter Games Paralympic or Olympic

Oksanas astonishing story of journeying through a series of dark tunnels is as true a tale of grit as Ive ever heard with a message filled with triumph and beautythat what doesnt kill us makes us stronger if we are loved Angela Duckworth New York Times bestselling author of Grit