SEVEN
Adversity
Going under?
“Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, For wise men say it is the wisest course.”
William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt
WHEN THINGS GO BADLY
Two days before I was due to fly to Sydney for the 2000 Paralympic Games, my father unexpectedly died of a massive stroke. The following day, I had to contact the British Paralympic Association and tell them that I wouldn’t be able to make my flight out of the UK.
Suddenly, despite the years of preparation, ...
