4 out of 4 stars
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Kevin Garrison started his life as a very healthy child. He enjoyed running and playing as much as any kid and was even part of the wrestling team in high school. So at the tender age of 16, after a lump appears on his foot, he isn't too concerned. When it turns out to be cancerous, he's forced to face the very real possibility of the amputation of his foot. In It's Just a Matter of Balance, we join Kevin on his journey from anger to acceptance.
I was very impressed with this book. Not only does Mr. Garrison have much to teach us, he does so in a way that is entertaining and, at times, almost poetic. The story flows along in a very smooth manner and is organized chronologically so as to avoid confusion. Though it's non-fiction, I kept being pulled back into the story, wanting to see how Kevin progressed in his life. I wanted to see where he was headed, his final destination, so to speak.
Honestly, there were only a few issues with the book, and they were very minor. First, there were some sentences that appeared in a box. I think the author was trying to emphasize certain sentences. However, some of them just didn't feel like they were important enough to delineate in this manner. Secondly, in the epilogue, Mr. Garrison briefly tells us about a few more sticking points in his life. This felt like too much of an afterthought to me. I would like to have seen these covered in the main course of the novel as a way of showing us a few more of Kevin's struggles.
Despite these problems, I enjoyed learning more about Kevin, especially in his young adult years. His attitude isn't always positive, which I thought was extremely realistic. Not many of us would have good thoughts just after learning that part of our body was to be cut off. This would be quite inspirational for those that are facing that situation themselves, but I found it useful even in my everyday life with the full use of my limbs.
I enthusiastically give It's Just a Matter of Balance 4 out of 4 stars. There were no editing issues and very few grammatical errors. I found the book to flow well from one chapter into the next, making it quite easy to read. I highly recommend it to any amputees, future amputees or those thinking of going into prosthetics or orthotics. More than that, I think it would be useful for anyone struggling with their attitudes in life. I found it to be quite encouraging myself.
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It's Just a Matter of Balance
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), I like the fact that it was written in the entertaining and poetic manner. Fascinating review!
