Brad Snyder

This book is about transformation. A teenager transforms to a Naval Academy cadet, and then to an EOD officer in a combat zone. Brad Snyder has to transform again after an IED explodes in his face and his eyesight is gone. It's beyond inspiring to hear the story from a humble man who defines the term thrive!

I'm not much for military books, but I love to read about people who overcome medical and physical difficulties. Having struggled with my hearing over the last few years, I was also drawn to this memoir because it involves another sense - sight.

Snyder sets a tone I wasn't expecting in this book. Bravery and determination are a huge part of the story. But he tempers these with funny stories about forgetting his ID at a crucial moment, and wearing two left shoes. His second leadership principle is compassion, and it's clear his style works in the way his platoon works together. But Snyder isn't afraid to tell us how he screwed up.

The book tugs at the reader's heartstrings too. He shares how he was affected by the death of fellow soldiers. He shares how it felt when his younger sister came to see him after his injury. He harkens back to what he learned from his dad and grandad.

Using a cane in front of him and a community of people beside and behind him, Snyder lives the way he moves his cane. "Tap, advance."

He says, "I transformed. I had to accept a new set of circumstances, and resolve to thrive anyway. That is what “resilience” means to me. It is the resolution to thrive, no matter what.”

Read this book, and cheer Brad Snyder on as he competes again in the 2016 Rio Paralympics!

Thanks to NetGalley, Perseus Books Group, and Da Capo Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.… (més)

A true and recent recounting of bravery on and off the battlefield. He begins with memories of growing up in his family and school and swimming. After high school, there was Annapolis, where he was to learn that academics was more important than his devotion to physical training with the swimming competition. After graduation his wish came true in the form of acceptance into ordinance demolition school, which was a whole new kind of challenge and a whole new bunch of friends.
Then there was a tour in Iraq, then more training. During this time, a good friend was killed in the war, and his lady from his time at Annapolis, a midshipman assigned elsewhere, gave in to suicide. Life was a real challenge for a while. Just before deployment to Afghanistan, a serious bout of stupidity nearly ended his career. But he and his skills were desperately needed, so his punishment was delayed, and he was deployed.
While on deployment, he was informed that his father had died suddenly, but he needed to put his grieving aside for now.
Then came the day when, at 27, a slight miscalculation resulted in his being seriously injured by an IED. At first, he believed that he had died and was transitioning. Then came the pain, medics, waking in ICU in Walter Reed, hearing his family, learning the extent of his injuries, and more surgery.
Moved to the VAH near his mother's home, he gained strength until able to join two skilled therapists and do a 5 mile marathon. While there, he was visited by an active duty army officer who had married after his injury and had recently had a new baby.
Next it was off to a VAH Augusta, GA with specialized training staff for the newly blind. There he relearned the ordinary aspects of daily life, gained more confidence through mobility training, and became adept in using talking computers. While there, he was contacted by the military outreach coordinator for the US Assn of Blind Athletes who was excited for Brad to begin training and applying for eligibility for the Paralympics. The coordinator then ramrodded everything from paperwork to time for a coach there in Georgia to flying to Colorado Springs to begin the intense training needed to qualify.
Rather than staying in Colorado, he went back east, and shortly was contacted by an entrepreneur offering housing and working towards a new career located in Baltimore. Uncertain of what to do without overdoing, it seemed that he could train full time and work around that. Then it was time to qualify, and he certainly did. He even broke a speed record twice, and became a solid member of team USA.
Actually, his first competition in the Paralympics in London in 2012 was a year to the day from his injury, his Alive Day. Competition was tough, and each meet described well, including times and type. But in the end, he brought home the Gold for Team USA. At the award ceremony, he silently was thankful for all those friends and family who helped him all of his days.
On November 1, 2013, he retired from the Navy medically and with honors.
Over the next two years, he learned how to live independently in his own apartment and got a Seeing Eye puppy. But most importantly, he developed a new outlook and his own coping mechanisms.
This is an excellent book about a man whose bravery is ongoing. He is a fine example of the countless veterans who have proved to be far more than a sum of their losses.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book free for the asking.… (més)