Riding by Cassia Cassitas is the story of a para-athlete Andre. This is a story of hope and struggle. This is the story of Andre becoming a para-athlete Olympian, a cyclist. This is the story of happiness and destiny. This is the story of disappointments and new beginnings. This is the story of a journey of imperfection to perfection. This is the story of overcoming one’s self along with hurdles, love, heroism and achievements.
Andre’s birth brings a new direction in his mother Elizabeth’s life. She had to give up her well-settled job. Andre was born without feet. Andre’s father Mario is an Olympic competitions executive working with the International Olympics Organizing Committee. Andre’s life begins in Curitiba, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The journey that starts in 1988 takes us through Los Angeles, Seoul, Johannesburg, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, and London; and finally ends in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. Riding by Cassia Cassitas is a biographical story of Andre and his search for excellence by crossing all the barriers and hurdles in life. The story talks about commitment, an urge for achievements, focused approach and beyond.
Riding by Cassia Cassitas is not merely about cycling and Paralympics but is beyond that creating a high amount of inspiration, talking about a father’s worries about his son’s studies, future, and life. It tells that real bonding and love in a family is never marred by the distances. Andre’s beautiful journey through time is heart-touching where at times the changes happen so fast that it takes a lot of determination and will-power to achieve your goals. This book is bound to take you through different rides of real life scenarios where you might cry at times and smile at certain instances.
Riding by Cassia Cassitas has been written with a great perfection and it appears that the words are coming straight out of the heart with a philosophical touch around every instance. Author’s knowledge on the subject (history of Olympics) is excellent. All the three characters in the book – Mario, Elizabeth, and Andre – have been carved so well that each reflects a lot of strengths. Mario, despite traveling most of the time because of his job, is always connected with his family and is worried about the studies, future and career of his son. Elizabeth, despite sacrificing her career for her newborn child, never complained about the long absence of her husband. Andre, despite a big hurdle in his life right since his birth, never fell short of confidence and self-belief because of his parents. Andre’s parents always made him feel that he can do anything in his life. And that is what probably brought the biggest change in his life.
If you really need some inspiration in life, grab this book, read the real life story of a true hero and the power behind his achievements. And also don’t forget to watch the next Paralympics in Rio in 2016.
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