I once saw Reeve chatting to Larry King Live and was almost in tears. Not in pity, but personal distress that someone like myself (who has a healthy body) had decided to skip aerobics because I "didn't feel like it". How pathetic can we get? We're lucky because we have healthy muscles - not due to an aide exercising them for us, but because we can move independantly. Reeve's history as Superman actor who fell off a horse breaking his neck close to the brain stem, is fairly well-known. What is less well-known, is that he was able to move his left index finger eight years after the accident. This should've been impossible due to his injury. In fact, this book relates that he was even able to move his wrist, though I doubt he was able to actually feed and wash himself. His determination that he will walk one day kept him in the gym for upto four hours a day. He loved going into the pool, after one of his physicians suggested he try. Surrounded by water, he was able to move his legs as if walking! He absolutely loved this. But there was always something that happened that prevented him from doing more. He relates how the doctors tried to teach his diaphragm to function on its own. He practised it until he was managing upto six hours without his ventilator. Then one day, he couldn't manage a breath on his own because his lungs had filled with liquid during the night and he needed to recover from this infection. The same applied to his exercises in the pool. As soon as he managed a lot, a bed sore or other kind of infection prevented him from entering the pool for upto six weeks, leaving all the work he'd done before useless.Reeve died in 2004 of cardiac arrest. This was nine years after the accident and I'm sure scientists still wonder if he'd ever manage to walk again. He spent his days campaigning for stem cell research, which was constantly stalled by politics (and ethics). In addition to this, he directed films and even starred in one or two. For someone who was paralyzed from the shoulders down, I can only take my hat off to him. The title of this book states what he lived for: Making the impossible possible. The one thing he seemed to finally have managed by the end of this book, was to accept his condition (and he writes this in November 2003). Accept it without anger or regret and that certainly seemed a feat few paraplegics are able to accomplish.
Maybe I'm biased. Like so many others like me, Christopher Reeve has been a role model for me since Superman first hit the big screen. As I grew up, I got to learn about the man behind the Man of Steel, and his "can do" attitude continued to inspire. Between the accident that left him paralyzed and his death years later, Reeve's inner strength proved the title of this book to be true. Nothing is impossible.So many years later, it's still heart-wrenching to hear him speak about his experiences in his own words, so it's no surprise this book packs quite the punch. At the same time, this is one of those stories that only he could tell with all of the humanity and personal conviction he could bring to bear. There's nothing sugar-coated here; the tragedy and the optimism are both as genuine as the man himself. This audiobook is written and presented in such a way that he's speaking directly to you.Before the end of his life, Reeve was able to walk again, with assistance, and only a few steps at a time. But it did happen. The force of will to do that is unquestioningly great, and it's something few of us can fathom. This book helps to fill in the picture a bit, and to show that this level of commitment to an idea is not only human, it's within us all. Whatever the situation, whatever the misfortune, we are gifted with untold reserves that help us to adapt and to (as Reeve himself has said) "go forward." This is the legacy of Christopher Reeve. It's a message all of us deserve to hear.
Do You like book Nothing Is Impossible (2004)?
An inspiring biography of a champion for achieving the impossible.I recently finished Christopher Reeve's second book "Nothing Is Impossible" he wrote after his tragic accident that left him paralyzed. It is an inspiring look at how he faced the unimaginable challenges of the "permanent" loss of his arms and legs. In the end, despite all of the scientific evidence telling him that he would not recover any movement, he persevered to recover movement past anyone's expectations, including his own.One of my favorite parts of the book is a quote he uses from Robert Kennedy: "The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason, and courage in a personal commitment to the great enterprises and ideals of [...] society."
—Kevin Shockey
Christopher Reeve was nothing short of a real Superman. Other than being a fascinating tale of learning, pain, hope and survival, Reeve in a humble, none-finger-wagging manner reminded me not to take what I have for granted. Something that is easily done (by all of us) when we don't take the time out of our busy lives once in awhile to look at things objectively and feel gratitude for what we at least have and hope to strive for.This journey of a life is very touching and stimulating emotionally to say the least. This book is a learning experience I will never forget.
—Dani
I grabbed this book not really knowing much about Christopher Reeve aside from his acting and his accident, that left him a quadriplegic. This book talks a lot about his strength and the things he accomplished in medical research as a result of his accident, becoming an activist for stem cell research. Politics aside (which I try to avoid) I loved his sense of humor, and realized what a great man he was and what he accomplished to help others with nervous system disabilities. I only imagine what he could have continued to do had he not died.
—Crystal
