dlberglund's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it.
My five star review is purely for its "heart" value, not its literary excellence or its Christian proselytizing, as some reviewers have chosen as their basis of review, though I'll address them briefly now. It's a memoir written by an athlete for whom English is a third language, with some help, I assume, from the mainstream publisher co-author. It is not the next Great American Novel. I also didn't feel that it was a strictly Christian memoir. I felt that Lomong's explanations of faith were genuine and appropriate to his retelling of his story; they rang true as expressions of his heart and the ways he made it through his own journey. I'm sure he would be thrilled if all of his readers agreed with his religious beliefs, but I rarely felt preached at or that preaching was the purpose of his book. I read it as an aspect of his life journey, an aspect that is important for him to convey.
What impacted me most was the sheer positivity and grace of his story telling. The story itself is horrifying, then hopeful and exciting; but then again, so are many of the recently published books about the Lost Boys of Sudan, or refugees from other countries where serious strife exists. His story is not remarkable because it is so much more horrible than someone else's, but because he seems to be full of acceptance and hope at every step along the way. Things are not easy for him, but he is a "live in the moment" kind of guy. One of my favorite passages from the book is about knowing that one's attitude can make the difference in getting through terrible periods. "What is the point of such complaining? After all the whining and complaining is over, you still live in a refugee camp." (Oops, spoiler alert. Too late.)
As Lomong's situation changes, sometimes slowly and sometimes incredibly quickly, he is able to convey his various reactions to us, and I'm always right there with him. For anyone with emotional ties to the suffering in civil war affected countries, or to eastern Africa, or to those struggling to overcome tremendous odds, or to those separated from families (oops-unnecessary spoiler alert again), I hope this book affects you as it did me. I read it in 3 days, shoving aside all of my other books, even in the face of a new job and needed sleep. It was worth it, and I'm at a loss (temporary, I'm sure) about what I could possibly read next as a follow up.
My five star review is purely for its "heart" value, not its literary excellence or its Christian proselytizing, as some reviewers have chosen as their basis of review, though I'll address them briefly now. It's a memoir written by an athlete for whom English is a third language, with some help, I assume, from the mainstream publisher co-author. It is not the next Great American Novel. I also didn't feel that it was a strictly Christian memoir. I felt that Lomong's explanations of faith were genuine and appropriate to his retelling of his story; they rang true as expressions of his heart and the ways he made it through his own journey. I'm sure he would be thrilled if all of his readers agreed with his religious beliefs, but I rarely felt preached at or that preaching was the purpose of his book. I read it as an aspect of his life journey, an aspect that is important for him to convey.
What impacted me most was the sheer positivity and grace of his story telling. The story itself is horrifying, then hopeful and exciting; but then again, so are many of the recently published books about the Lost Boys of Sudan, or refugees from other countries where serious strife exists. His story is not remarkable because it is so much more horrible than someone else's, but because he seems to be full of acceptance and hope at every step along the way. Things are not easy for him, but he is a "live in the moment" kind of guy. One of my favorite passages from the book is about knowing that one's attitude can make the difference in getting through terrible periods. "What is the point of such complaining? After all the whining and complaining is over, you still live in a refugee camp." (Oops, spoiler alert. Too late.)
As Lomong's situation changes, sometimes slowly and sometimes incredibly quickly, he is able to convey his various reactions to us, and I'm always right there with him. For anyone with emotional ties to the suffering in civil war affected countries, or to eastern Africa, or to those struggling to overcome tremendous odds, or to those separated from families (oops-unnecessary spoiler alert again), I hope this book affects you as it did me. I read it in 3 days, shoving aside all of my other books, even in the face of a new job and needed sleep. It was worth it, and I'm at a loss (temporary, I'm sure) about what I could possibly read next as a follow up.
vodaas's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
melbsreads's review
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Trigger warnings: war, death, death of a friend, gun violence, child endangerment, animal death, blood
I knew nothing about Lopez going into this because a) I am not American and b) I am not a sports person. I couldn't tell you who was on the Australian Olympic team in Tokyo, let alone in 2012. Anyway, based on the subtitle and the blurb, I thought this was going to be more of a 50-50 split over his time escaping Sudan and his aspirations to be on the Olympic team. Instead, it was more like a 10% Sudan, 30% refugee camp and coming to America, 60% running and Olympic aspirations.
And, like, it wasn't BAD. But it very definitely wasn't what I expected it would be.
I knew nothing about Lopez going into this because a) I am not American and b) I am not a sports person. I couldn't tell you who was on the Australian Olympic team in Tokyo, let alone in 2012. Anyway, based on the subtitle and the blurb, I thought this was going to be more of a 50-50 split over his time escaping Sudan and his aspirations to be on the Olympic team. Instead, it was more like a 10% Sudan, 30% refugee camp and coming to America, 60% running and Olympic aspirations.
And, like, it wasn't BAD. But it very definitely wasn't what I expected it would be.
bookgoose8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
pofeland's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
First listened to Loepe on the High Performance podcast and was inspired to read this book. Loved it.
pearlbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0