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Book cover of Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life
Religious Inspiration, Entertainment Biography, General & Miscellaneous Biography, Personal Growth, General Reference, Inspiration, Addiction & Recovery

Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life

by Christopher Reeve
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Overview

Christopher Reeve has mastered the art of turning the impossible into the inevitable. In these candid reflections, Reeve shows that we are all capable of overcoming seemingly insurmountable hardships. He teaches us that for able-bodied people, paralysis is a choice—a choice to live with self-doubt and a fear of taking risks—and that it is not an acceptable one. Reeve knows from experience that the work of conquering inner space is hard and that it requires some suffering—after all, nothing worth having is easy to attain. He asks challenging questions about why it seems so difficult—if not impossible—for us to work together as a society. Nothing Is Impossible reminds us that life is not to be taken for granted but to be lived fully with zeal, curiosity, and gratitude.

Synopsis

So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. If we can conquer outer space, we can conquer inner space, too.

Christopher Reeve has mastered the art of turning the impossible into the inevitable.

Publishers Weekly

Reeve (Still Me) offers a uniquely powerful audio message of hope on topics ranging from the controversial stem cell debate to the mind-body connection he credits with his recent physical improvements. Maintaining a composed tone and reassuring perspective, Reeve goes beyond mere narration to bare his darkest times in the ICU, his wish to commit suicide and his longing for normalcy, persuasively urging listeners, whether disabled or not, to expand outside their "comfort zones." After teaching his youngest son to ride a bicycle with only the power of his words, Reeve came to the realization that "being" is more important than doing, and that, as he tells new spinal cord injury victims, "life is worth living." Snippets from speeches, personal anecdotes and remarks from talk shows pepper the unabridged tape set, allowing Reeve easy transitions from such diverse issues as the inadequacies of health insurance to his ongoing search for spirituality and religion. But Reeve's truly inspirational path to survival is best reflected in his delightful sense of humor. When once asked how he holds it all together, he dryly replied: "duct tape." Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve has established a reputation as one of the country’s leading actors, and since he was paralyzed in an equestrian competition in 1995, he has put a human face on spinal cord injury. Reeve is the chairman of the board of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (CRPF) and the vice chairman of the National Organization on Disability, and he lobbies vigorously for health-care reform and funding for research. He is the author of the bestselling book Still Me and lives in upstate New York with his wife, Dana, and their children.

Visit the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation Web site at www.christopherreeve.org and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center Web site at www.paralysis.org.

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Editorials

From the Publisher

“GRACEFUL, PERSUASIVE . . . A reflective mixture of policy advocacy, personal philosophy and candid self-observation.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer

“[A] SUPER SHOT OF INSPIRATION . . . REEVE’S CANDOR AND UNSELFISH NATURE ARE APPARENT IN EVERY PAGE.”
The Oklahoman

“MOVING . . . A GENTLE AND IMPRESSIVE MESSAGE FROM SOMEONE WHO REFUSES TO GIVE UP.”
—Deseret News

“This book may awaken in the reader a desire to find within oneself, one’s family and friends, and one’s higher power the hope and wherewithal to live life as though ‘nothing is impossible.’ ”
Quest magazine

“Reeve’s style is simple and genuine, you can feel his longing as you turn each page. . . . Nothing Is Impossible reminds us that life is not to be taken for granted—it should be embraced with passion, kindness and gratitude. . . . This is a potent message we have heard many times, but it’s the messenger who gives these words brimming resonance.”
Coral Gables Gazette (FL)

Nothing Is Impossible is written completely without either corrosive self-pity or false vanity. In many ways, it is a completely ordinary book—
and that may be its greatest strength.”
—Bookreporter.com

“Lovely . . . [Reeve’s] book, a manifesto for living life to the fullest, should be on everyone’s bedside table.”
Millbrook Round Table (NY)

Publishers Weekly

Reeve (Still Me) offers a uniquely powerful audio message of hope on topics ranging from the controversial stem cell debate to the mind-body connection he credits with his recent physical improvements. Maintaining a composed tone and reassuring perspective, Reeve goes beyond mere narration to bare his darkest times in the ICU, his wish to commit suicide and his longing for normalcy, persuasively urging listeners, whether disabled or not, to expand outside their "comfort zones." After teaching his youngest son to ride a bicycle with only the power of his words, Reeve came to the realization that "being" is more important than doing, and that, as he tells new spinal cord injury victims, "life is worth living." Snippets from speeches, personal anecdotes and remarks from talk shows pepper the unabridged tape set, allowing Reeve easy transitions from such diverse issues as the inadequacies of health insurance to his ongoing search for spirituality and religion. But Reeve's truly inspirational path to survival is best reflected in his delightful sense of humor. When once asked how he holds it all together, he dryly replied: "duct tape." Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In a "freak accident, not a foolish one," stage and screen actor Reeve was thrown from a horse and almost completely paralyzed when his spinal cord was severed in 1995. Nothing Is Impossible relives his life since then: lecturing to doctors and patients' rights groups; acting; therapy sessions; raising millions for research. He scorns the Pope and President Bush, both of whom have banned research by therapeutic cloning, which could lead to cures. For now Reeve depends on machines and a tireless and dedicated wife and staff and retains his sense of humor. With "my aggressive and competitive personality," he soldiers on, admirably. Hours of therapy have resulted in limited hand and leg movements, giving him hope for further recovery. The author's reading is restrained by the inaudible mechanized breathing but commendable. His acting skills help; he never puts periods in the wrong place. Recommended for general biography collections.-Gordon Blackwell, Eastchester, NY Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Book Details

Published
April 1, 2004
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Pages
224
Format
Mass Market Paperback
ISBN
9780345470737

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