The Gymnast

Disability, Sport, and Romance Memoir

By: Patrick J. Bird

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Paperback | 10 September 2024

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22.9 x 15.2 x 1.61

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The Gymnast might have been an "everyman" memoir: Patrick grew up hard and fast in the New York of the 1950s and '60s. He found a sport and then a career he was passionate about. Found love, raised a family.

Except The Gymnast isn't any old coming-of-age tale. Patrick contracted polio, and one of his legs atrophied because of it. He became the boy with the "repulsive leg," as he called it, and for a long time, he didn't believe he'd have a normal life.

With grit and dedication (and lots of luck), Patrick forged the life he wanted. He successfully competed on Big Ten and NCAA championship gymnastics teams and coached the sport at the collegiate level. He earned a PhD with an emphasis in exercise science. After a turbulent romance, he married his childhood sweetheart, and they raised three children.

Humorous and sad, heartwarming as much as it is heart-wrenching, The Gymnast follows a unique thread that weaves together disability, sport, and romance. Few stories talk about disabled people dealing with sex, romance, bullying, and competing successfully at the highest level of sport. Patrick may have grown up different, but his compelling story will resonate with every reader.

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