Soul Surfer – Bethany Hamilton Free Essay Example

Have you ever thought about all the things that could happen that would change your entire life? Bethany Hamilton was just a thirteen year old girl and a surfer when she was attacked by a shark, losing her entire left arm. Hamilton’s Soul Surfer is her admirable story of how she was attacked by a shark, survived, and got back on the board to become a professional surfer.

Bethany Hamilton grew up surfing, both of her parents were surfers along with her two older brothers.

The morning of Halloween was just another day of surfing for Bethany, her best friend, Alana, and Alana’s family. They were all enjoying a morning of surfing and while they were waiting for waves to start, Bethany was dangling her arm in the water. A thirteen foot tiger shark attacked, Bethany’s left arm, amputating it completely and swimming away. She was rushed to the hospital on their island in Hawaii where, coincidently, Bethany’s father was about to be receiving knee surgery.

When she woke up in the hospital, the first thing she was wondering was when she was able to surf again. Being raised a strong Christian, her family, friends, and herself all used their faith in God to push through the difficult times.

Bethany has grown up to become a professional surfer, and believes she is alive for a reason. There were not many things to dislike in this book. One thing I did dislike though was the way it was written.

Being written by a surfer, it was mostly written for surfers. She used words that I didn’t understand, and I wouldn’t expect most people who don’t surf avidly to understand, such as “dirty lickings” and “stringer”. Close to the end of the book, she had a few of the terms with what they meant. Another, and the only other thing that I disliked, was that sometimes it seemed like she wasn’t the only author. It sounds at some points as if she had a coauthor, but they were not recognized.

There were not many things that I disliked about this book. I enjoyed this book, and there were a lot of things that I liked about it. I enjoyed how Bethany kept the order in her book. She didn’t switch between past and present; she kept a steady pace from when it happened, to the present. Despite some of the terms that were meant for surfers, there were not many words that were too hard to understand. Her novel was said to be for all ages, and it really is for all ages.

Bethany also kept a good feeling throughout the book. It is extremely inspirational for Christians, people who have recently suffered a tragic experience similar to hers, and even people in general who need inspiration. I excessively appreciated Soul Surfer and all of its attributes. Soul Surfer is Bethany Hamilton’s commendable story of how she survived a shark attack. It is a wonderful book for people of all ages, especially ones that have suffered a recent accident or Christians. The book is easy to read, except for a few of the terms about surfing. I would recommend this book to anybody who was thinking about reading it.

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