Yo Sama- The Autobiography of Tatyana McFadden – BionicOldGuy

Tatyana McFadden is one of the most highly decorated wheelchair racers of all time. She was born in Russia in 1989 with a debilitating condition called Spina Bifida which made her unable to use their legs. She was raised for the first few years of her life in a grim environment, a state-run orphanage in St. Petersburg. But at the age of six she was adopted by Deborah McFadden and taken back to Maryland. To Tatyana this was like paradise. Her mother encouraged her in pursuit of physical activities including swimming, then gymnastics, wheelchair basketball, and track and field. She participated in her first wheelchair race at the age of 8. She won several medals at the paralympic games in Athens in 2004. In her career she has excelled in a wide range of distances from 100 meters to the marathon.

Yo Sama is a Russian phrase meaning “I can do it”. It is what Tatyana repeats to herself at critical moments in races when she has to dig deep. With a degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois, Tatyana is delighted to encourage young people to push the boundaries of what they can achieve in life. This was a delightful and inspiring read.