The Hard Parts: A Story of Courage and Triumph

In April 1986, number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant exploded near the Ukrainian city of Pripyat. It was the worst nuclear disaster in history and left behind a trail of human misery. The radioactive fallout, which covered a large geographical area, caused death, birth defects, childhood thyroid cancers, and other related illnesses. Oksana Masters was among those affected. Poisoned in the womb, she was born in 1989 with one kidney, a partial stomach, webbed fingers, no thumbs, six toes on each foot, and no right bicep. Her left leg was six inches shorter than the right and she was missing both tibias. The cost of looking after her was so high that her parents handed her over to an orphanage where she was mistreated. After living in three orphanages, Oksana was adopted at the age of seven by an American mother who fought a two-year battle to give her a new home. The Hard Parts is Oksana’s remarkable story of how she conquered prejudice, adversity, and a double leg amputation to become a Paralympian champion and an inspiration.  At the 2012 London Summer Paralympics, she won the first ever U.S. medal in trunk and arms mixed double sculls (rowing); she was part of the U.S. Nordic skiing team at the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, and at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics, Oksana switched to para-cycling, winning two gold medals at the latter. In 2020, Oksana won the Laureus World Sports Award in the category of “Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.” Is there no stopping this remarkable woman?

Format: Kindle Edition, Paperback & Hardcover

Hardcover: 336 Pages

Language: English