Previous book reviews:

• Leadership Secrets (Nick Saban)
• Swagger (Jimmy Johnson)
• Called to Coach (Bobby Bowden)
• Mind and Matter (John Urschel)

Walking Miracle: How Faith, Positive Thinking, and Passion for Football Brought Me Back from Paralysis… and Helped Me Find Purpose.
Ryan Shazier with Larry Platt
Copyright 2021
Hachette Book Group

A few highlights from the book:

• Shazier was diagnosed with Alopecia and Scoliosis as a child.
• Shazier was injured during a routine play in Cincinnati on Monday Night Football on December 4, 2017.
• Shazier’s doctor told him that his injury has never been reported in the history of football.  Spinal injuries are expected to manifest themselves in the neck because that is the weakest point.  In Shazier’s case, it manifested in the lower back because of his childhood scoliosis.
• Ryan received encouragement from previous football players who suffered spinal cord injuries – Eric LeGrand of Rutgers and Adam Taliferro of Penn State.
• Pittsburgh resident Thomas Tull provided Ryan with a copy of, “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ran Holiday.  This Stoic philosophy is part of the foundational philosophy of the “The Process” used by Nick Saban, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.
• Ryan learned a technique called “distanced self-talk” to quiet his mind from the book, “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters, and How to Harness It” by Ethan Kross, a professor at the University of Michigan and director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory.
• The Steelers had picked up Shazier’s $8.7 million fifth-year option going into the 2017 season.  He was put on the physically unable to perform list for 2018, which would mean that $8.2 million would not count against the salary cap.  GM Kevin Colbert did this so that Shazier would have ample time and space to explore coming back.
• At an Ireland Funds fundraising event sponsored by the Rooney family, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin approached Shazier and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about Shazier presenting the Steelers first round draft pick.  This was Ryan’s first event where he would walk in public.
• Before Shazier played a single snap of college football, he had committed to two teams (Florida and Ohio State) whose coaches (Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel) had both stepped down.
• During the 2012 CFB season, Shazier barely practice the entire second half of the season because of a hernia.
• During the 2013 CFB season, Shazier led the Big Ten in tackles (143) and had six sacks and four forced fumbles.  He came in second for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year to Wisconsin’s Chris Borland.
• Former Pittsburgh teammate, running back James Conner, wrote a book, “Fear is a Choice” after beating Hodgkins lymphoma.

A quote for college football fans:

Coach Tomlin trusted me; Coach Meyer trusted no one.  In some ways, they were both right for where they were.  Coach Meyer was a great college coach, which required more of an authoritarian approach.  And Coach Tomlin was a great pro coach, who by treating his players like men, made them want to bust their butts for him.

A quote for Ohio State fans:

The next day, I was in Columbus, where it was ten degrees outside.  The students were on break, so the campus was empty in addition to being a deep freeze.  It wasn’t looking good for the Buckeyes.

[My Dad’s] job was to be practical and make sure I was seeing the big picture.  Ohio State had a huge alumni base, so if the NFL didn’t work out, that could be a huge plus for my future.  Plus, Ohio State and its defensive coach, Luke Fickell, had a knack for sending linebackers on the NFL.  Not only that, head coach Jim Tressel was recognized nationwide as a top-notch coach.  “And if you do make it to the NFL, you’ll have experience playing in the cold at Ohio state,” Dad said.

But the thing that tipped the scales in Ohio State’s favor was pretty atypical.

I knew there’d be a senior ahead of me on the roster [Andrew Sweat], which meant I wouldn’t get much playing time as a freshman.  Most recruits are looking for assurances that they will start from day one.  But, remember, I’d played defensive end in high school.  I needed to learn how to be a linebacker.  I thought this could be an opportunity for me to be a sponge and really improve.

My Review:

Many of us have had either direct or indirect encounters with paralysis with people we know and love.  I certainly have my own.  Nearly a year ago (January of 2023), a close friend of mine, an ER Physician in Akron, Ohio was permanently paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident at Cooper Mountain, Colorado.  A year before that, my nephew woke up one morning and was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down for nearly a year as a result of Transverse Myelitis.

Most memoirs about athletes are simple stories of their glory years.  Their narrative arc is typically made complete with examples of overcoming adversity and obstacles along the way, but we all know how it ends before the first page.  Of course, each athlete’s journey is unique, and no one is exempt from adversity, no matter how slight or severe.  Yet, some stories are more compelling than others, and Ryan Shazier’s delivers.    

Every football player fears injury.  At best, it means playing through pain and diminished performance.  Gradually the consequences grow more severe.  Loss of playing time.  Loss of confidence from the coaching staff.  Loss of a playing career.  Greater still are the effects that never leave from injuries that never heal when a playing career is over.  Joints that always ache, memory loss, depression.  But perhaps every football player’s worst nightmare, the most life changing injury possible is paralysis.

Ryan Shazier talks openly about the fear and the depression he experienced after his injury.  He had tough conversations with his now wife, Michelle, about whether they should stay together and the hope of having children together (would his “equipment” still work).  He also records who stood by his side, how he found hope and purpose after finally letting go of the dream to make a comeback.

Larry Platt carries the content in several chapters, most notably in “The Terror of Living Without the Game”.  There is a survey of other athletes: Bill Bradley, Ken Ruettgers, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan and how they deal with life after leaving the game.  Perhaps these are stories Shazier is familiar with and used for inspiration, but it comes across as an anachronism.

Shazier is the son of pastor, and his story has a confusing mixture of Christianity and Stoicism.  There are plenty of references to favorite bible verses and God “having a plan for my life”, but Christianity seems to be more in the background.  The source of inspiration and power for many of his breakthroughs appear to come from the teachings of Seneca and Epictetus.  What is not confusing is that Shazier’s resiliency became an inspiration to the entire football nation.  We will all face adversity, perhaps not as severe as Ryan's.  But will we handle it with the same dogged determination as Ryan?

About the Author (from the cover)

Larry Platt is the author and co-author of several bestselling books, including, “Everyday I fight”, the posthumous memoir of legendary ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott.