Eleven Seconds (Joey Bach) (Malik Gadjigo)

Eleven Seconds, By Travis Roy
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
240 pages
I found this book at Barnes and Noble, but heard about it through friends who have read this novel.
Eleven Seconds is an inspiring story written about a young man’s tragic, heartfelt life. Travis Roy is the author, as well as the victim, who shares his story about his dream being achieved and crushed in no more than a few seconds. As a young star, Travis Roy went to Boston University to play hockey, and as a freshmen, saw his first minutes of his promising career. On an October night in 1995, he went crashing into the boards a few seconds in, cracking his fourth vertebra and left to be paralyzed from the waist down. He spent months in the hospital, and was fortunate enough to be released, but held in a wheelchair. He is pessimistic and crushed because of this tragic event, and hopes to find faith once again so he can strive at something else. He re-claims his spirit and is once again a young man living against the odds. it’s a wonderful story about the affairs regarding sports and adversity.
This book is targeted for sports lovers. I think this because it’s the central subject around Roy’s struggle for hope. Hockey is what he lives for.
The style of writing Roy uses in this novel is narrative. He uses his perspective to describe his life, so the narrator is the one living the life you read about:
“I couldn't imagine being disabled like that, and I'd wonder, what kind of life can they have?"
Quotes: ''There's an inner spirit we all have. Athletes and politicians use it to accomplish great things, and people facing catastrophic events use it every day, fighting to be better."- He uses the idea of spirit to playing sports, and this really struck me because he is right, when you care enough about something, your spirit helps you achieve it.
“I play a game. I remind myself there's someone worse off than I am, and then, automatically, you say, well, I'm going to do the best I can." - This quote struck me because Roy seemed selfish when he wasn’t a paraplegic, and used others’ pain as a push to help his do the best he can.”
''It makes me feel sad, and I wonder, how did I end up in this wheelchair?"- This quote stuck me because it’s a day he is sitting at the Walter Brown Arena watching hockey players skate, and he seems mortified and crushed he had to end up this way. It’s sad this happens to people but it is part of life.
This is one of the most inspiring stories I have ever read. I really related to it on the bases that I am an athlete, and don’t know what I would do without sports in my life. He was a tremendous athlete, and it was a reality check for him as well as me that this type of tragedy can happen to anyone, including the best. I think this is the best I have interacted and related to a story, and would recommend it to anybody, not just sports lovers, because it’s a very heartfelt novel.

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Title- Eleven Seconds
Author- Travis Roy and Co-Author E.M. Swift
Pages- 236
I found about this book when I started doing my research paper, because I thought Travis Roy was a very intriguing man.
Summary- Eleven Seconds was all it took for Travis Roy’s life to come to a crashing halt. In his first collegiate game at Boston University in 1995, Travis went on to the ice, and after eleven seconds, he tried to check somebody into the boards, but instead, he himself flew into the boards head first and cracked his fourth vertebra, leaving him a quadriplegic. This situation had taken a dream away from Travis, but it had also opened up hope that he could always use to keep his spirits high. About 4 years after the accident, Travis Roy started the Travis Roy Foundation, which raises money for other paralysis victims around the country. There are many charity events for the foundation, which raise a lot of money for new equipment.

Audience- the audience for this book is pretty much anybody who loves inspirational stories that may not start off too great but they always lift your spirits in the end. I think this because I wouldn’t recommend this book if it put a damper on your spirits.

Writing Style- Travis Roy’s writing style is very inspirational, uplifting and narrative. Roy tells this heartfelt story from his own point of view.

Passages-
“ I gave up and tried only to sleep. I didn’t want to wake up again and relive this nightmare. When I slept it would all disappear. (Roy, 52)- This passage struck me because it shows just how much adversity Travis was going through at such a young age. It takes a strong soul to overcome that kind of situation at 20 years old.
“Mentally and spiritually, things are a lot better for me. I’m secure about who I am and optimistic about my life. (Roy, 227)- This passage struck me because it shows how far Travis Roy has come since that fateful night in October 1995. He’s overcome the odds of staying alive, and his mental situation has got better because he has been looking at life through a good perspective.
“I know I won’t ever be jumping up and down or be playing hockey again, but living independently, being able to take care of myself—that’s my dream. (Roy, 227)- This passage has struck me because it shows that Travis Roy looks at the small important things in his life. He knows that it is very unrealistic that he’ll ever walk again, but all that he wants, is to be able to live without having someone to take care of him. That shows me how brave and powerful Travis Roy is.
This book reminded me of the small things in life that are really needed. Family and independence is all you really need to survive. The material things in life are great to have, but definitely not needed. Roy explains this in a very unique and intriguing way, which really catches the reader’s eye. When Travis Roy is talking about how we overcame the surgery, and the many months in the hospital, that really spoke to me because that really shows me that if I ever want/need to overcome adversity, then there is always a way to do it.