Walking Miracle: How Faith, Positive Thinking, and Passion for Football Brought Me Back from Paralysis... and Helped Me Find Purpose

In this extraordinary debut, former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Shazier recounts his inspiring path to recovery after being paralyzed from the waist down. Unlike other sports memoirs, Shazier’s story steers clear of clichéd descriptions of his dedication to the game. Instead, he focuses on the unwavering support of his family, friends, and teammates as he leads readers through the difficult months that followed a routine tackle in 2017 that left him with a “20 percent chance of walking again.” He recalls his painstaking recovery process, as he went from catching thrown teddy bears to test his reflexes to attending his team’s games in a wheelchair and eventually beginning the therapy that led him to walk again. While he writes it wasn’t “all inspiration and smiles,” his experience fueled his desire to serve “a greater good” through a commitment to charitable work. Interspersed with thoughtful reflections on what it means to reconfigure one’s life and goals, Shazier’s testimony of hope and personal strength reaches its emotional pinnacle when a video of him and his wife dancing at their wedding goes viral. “Seventeen months ago... I’d been carted off the field,” he writes. “Now there I was, dancing.... It was the ultimate first down.” The result will score with more than just football fans. (Nov.)