Books Discussed: Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back from the Dead.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.
On July 6, 2004, eighteen-year-old Brian Boyle was driving home from swim practice. He lived with his parents in Welcome, Maryland, a small town near the Eastern Shore. The roads are narrow and windy in this rural part of the state. At one intersection, a speeding dump truck plowed into his Camaro, totaling the vehicle and practically costing Boyle his life. He suffered massive internal damage and lost 60 percent of his blood. A helicopter whisked him to a local hospital with a state-of-the-art trauma unit. Doctors had to jumpstart his heart numerous times during surgery. To lessen his pain, the medical staff also put him in a chemical-induced coma that lasted two months. With his mother and father sitting vigil at his bedside, the prognosis looked grim for the former bodybuilder, discus thrower, and competitive swimmer who would end up losing 100 pounds. Did he suffer irreversible brain damage? Would he ever speak or walk again? Would he permanently remain in a vegetative state? Miraculously, however, Boyle managed to punch his way through the coma barrier known as a ‘locked-in” state. He was actually conscious and aware of his surroundings but was unable to communicate, blink, or express himself — he soon rejoined the land of the living again.
After months of rehab where he had to relearn such basics as eating, showering, talking, and taking a few steps, he set out to achieve what seemed like two impossible goals: joining the swim team at St. Mary’s College, and competing in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon. He accomplished both. On October 13, 2007, Boyle crossed the Ironman finish line in 14 hours and 42 minutes — two and a half years after the catastrophic accident that had literally pushed his heart clear across his chest. Not only did Boyle cheat death, but also he had triumphed in one of the world’s toughest endurance events while being shadowed throughout the long, hot day by an NBC television crew. The story of his amazing, improbable journey from coma to Kona comes to life in Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back from the Dead.
This inspirational memoir is a real page-turner. You root for the likable Brian the entire way. With no memory of the accident, imagine waking up to this horrific reality–”I awake to regular beeping sounds. I’m alone in a white room and looking straight up at the ceiling. Bright lights shine all around me. My heart is beating fast. I try to raise my arms, then legs, but I can’t move them. My head won’t budge either. I can’t blink or wiggle my fingers.”
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Endurance runners are mystics. How else does one explain their ability to run for hours and hours, participating in 100-mile ultramarathons, pushing their bodies way past the sensible time to surrender? That’s just one of the vexing questions, author Christopher McDougal poses in his terrific new book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. A runner himself though prone to injuries, McDougal is fascinated by the the Tarahumara Indians who live in small isolated villages scattered throughout northern Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains. Tarahumara comes from the native word Raramuri, which means “foot runner.” Old and young, even women, run all day. It’s a way of life for the reclusive Tarahumarans. What also interests McDougal is an eccentric running gringo from Boulder who spends half the year living in the Sierra Madres. A running race serves as the book’s climax; the participants also include a hard-partying young couple from the East Coast and the author. There is no better book on running–it’s educational, historical, and reads like an adventure novel. And the reason the Tarahumarans seldom get injured while running? They run barefoot or with thin-soled huaraches, constructed from discarded tire treads.
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