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The Hard Parts

A Story of Courage and Triumph

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The Hard Parts

By: Oksana Masters
Narrated by: Cassidy Randall, Emily Tremaine, Oksana Masters
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About this listen

 'Gripping, powerful and inspiring' - TONY HAWK

'Heart-wrenching and extraordinary' - ARIANA NEUMANN

The remarkable and inspirational story of Oksana Masters, who was born with radiation-induced birth defects and suffered appalling abuse as an orphan, before being adopted and moving to the US, where she went on to triumph over her challenges to win ten Paralympic medals in four different sports.

Oksana Masters was born in the shadow of Chernobyl, 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 their child’s medical care, Oksana encountered numerous abuses, some horrifying. Salvation came at the age of 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.

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 fuelled by a drive to succeed that still smouldered from childhood, Oksana triumphed in not just one sport but four - winning against the world’s best in rowing, biathlon, cross-country skiing and road cycling competitions.

This is Oksana’s astonishing story of journeying through a series of dark tunnels - and how, with her mother’s love, she finally found her way into the light. Her message to anyone who doesn’t fit in: you can find a place where you excel and where you have worth.©2023 Oksana Masters (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc People with Disabilities Sports Inspiring

Critic Reviews

'Unexpectedly powerful...I couldn't put this memoir down. It's as true a tale of grit as I've ever heard, with a message filled with triumph and beauty - that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, if we are loved.' (Angela Duckworth, internationally bestselling author of Grit)
'The Hard Parts takes us from heartache to courage, from crushing disabilities to exemplary talents, from hopelessness to sky-high aspiration. Here is a young woman who persists with a fierce, undeniable optimism, no matter how devastating the challenges she has faced. Add to this timely story Oksana’s beginnings within the tragic backdrop of a Ukrainian orphanage. A hero lives among us.' (Diana Nyad, author of Find a Way)
'Heart wrenching and extraordinary. The Hard Parts is a remarkable memoir of coping with trauma, but it's mostly about courage and achieving the impossible. I'm completely in awe of Oksana and her resilience – what an inspiration.' (Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped)
'A gut-wrenching, wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity, sheer will and a great big dose of motherly love.' (Jeannette Walls, bestselling author of The Glass Castle)
'Gripping, powerful and inspiring. As a fellow athlete, I appreciate the commitment and discipline it takes to succeed, but Oksana is on another level altogether.' (Tony Hawk, 16-time X Game Medallist in skateboarding)
'Like all the greats, Oksana lives on the edge of fear and uses every setback she’s ever had to ask more of herself. A revealing parting of the curtain, The Hard Parts is a candid - and often poignant - account of the challenges Oksana overcame along the way to becoming the best ever, and it’s more inspiring than words could ever convey.' (Mikaela Shiffrin, two-time Olympic Gold Meda'list and four-time Overall World Cup Ski Champion)
'A book of rare quality... In these pages, not only does Oksana Masters triumph over tremendous odds but her victories are so multiple and her courage crosses so many different fronts that she forces us to rethink the term "Greatest Ever". Move aside GOATS and make a place for her.' (Sally Jenkins, sports columnist for the Washington Post)

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Inspirational and more than brave……

What an amazing lady with such a inspirational story! This story is proof that you can achieve anything you put your mind and efforts into. Talking about past traumas and hardships is never easy especially when often the natural way of trying to deal with them is to try push them aside, try not to think about them, forget them (some do and some never can), never discus them, etc… it is the the natural ways in which so many of us try and survive the trauma and not allow it to swallow us. Oksana has bravely discussed her past traumas in this book and through doing this readers are able to understand her so much more. Readers can be inspired that no matter how much trauma you have encountered you can still aim and achieve goals! Oksana even shows that physical ailments and injuries can’t even stop you from achieving your goals once your mind and heart are set on achieving them. Through reading Oksana’s story I feel no pity for her only absolute admiration and respect. Speaking about her childhood friend Laynie (I’m not sure of the spelling of that name as I listened to the audiobook) was understandably hard for Oksana, however by doing so she gave life to Laynie in the way of allowing this book to bring life to the memory of such a brave and protective little girl, forever! I have no doubt at all that Laynie would be so very proud of Oksana’s many achievements. I think Oksana should be proud of every single one of her medals, many people thought she could not do it let alone win so many medals of so many things. Oksana’s book shows that you can turn a negative emotion such as anger into a positive and constructive force, allowing self construction instead of self destruction and this is a mighty important thing to learn. This book is going to help so many people and has the capacity to turn many lives around for the better. Well done Oksana! This book deserves a gold medal.

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