Uplifting the spirit

These are books meant to uplift your spirit.

Here are some of my favourite books that have inspired me.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown – still my favourite book ever, The Boys in the Boat tells the story of Joe Rantz and his team who won the Olympic gold medal in eight-man rowing.

Brown weaves the story of how Germany prepared for those Olympics between this exciting sports story, which shows how perseverance pays off.

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand – No athlete got more coverage in 1938 than Seabiscuit, the race horse that defied the odds.

Seabiscuit was not your typical racehorse. He wasn’t built for the sport, but he was all heart. No one in this true story of Seabiscuit was extraordinary, but they all rose to the pinnacle of fame because they wouldn’t give up.

The 80-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts – When Harry de Leyer, a Dutch immigrant picked out Snowman from a bunch of horses heading for the slaughterhouse, he had no idea that Snowman would become famous for jumping. Snowman proves just how much even a horse can accomplish if someone believes in him.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing – This has got to be one of the most exciting and incredible stories ever written. Stranded in Antarctica after their boat becomes trapped in ice, Shackleton and his men must find their way back to civilisation.

The story truly is incredible.

Isabella: The Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey – A biography of Queen Isabella of Spain might not seem like an exciting read, but I found this to be a jaw-dropping story of faith and perseverance.

Filled with intrigue, love and war, you couldn’t ask for a better novel or a more compelling story.

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor – The first Puerto Rican Supreme Court Justice tells her story in this autobiography about growing up in Brooklyn and reaching the pinnacle of success.

This is a story of how culture and family sustain you.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough – The Wright Brothers is a story that will make your heart soar. Mc- Cullough’s biography of the two brothers who invented the airplane is another story in faith and perseverance.

A Night Divided by Jennier A Nielsen – Although this is a book written for upper elementary and lower secondary school students, any reader searching for a good read will enjoy this novel about a family separated when the Berlin Wall was built. In this historical novel, a brother and sister hatch a plot to escape with their mother and reunite their family in the west where another brother and their father now reside. This is a particularly heart-warming story made relevant by US President Donald Trump’s threat to build a wall separating the US from Mexico.