Cirrus@Austlit

'An inspirational memoir by a man who became an elite wheelchair athlete after suffering a catastrophic spinal injury and who finally walked again 25 years after his accident.

'After two years of intense physical therapy following his crippling accident, John Maclean set a new course for himself when his father encouraged him to embrace his new reality and asked: "How far can you go?" Inspired, Maclean became the first paraplegic to complete the Ironman World Championship and swim the English Channel before going on to win a silver medal for rowing at the 2008 Paralympic Games–yet these achievements did not come easy or on his first try. But with fierce tenacity, determination, and the love of family and friends Maclean was able to see each dream realized.

'Yet he longed for one more victory: to walk on the beach with his family, holding his wife's hand. Through a radical therapy, he retrained his mind and challenged conventional thinking to walk again after 25 years in a wheelchair. HOW FAR CAN YOU GO? is his amazing story. ' (Publication summary)

'John Maclean is an extraordinary man whose life has come full circle. After winning silver in rowing at the Beijing Paralympics, the last of many incredible sporting quests that have seen him swim the English channel and finish the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon, he realised he needed to confront his past and the road accident that had left him paraplegic at the age of 22 if he was to move beyond the physical challenges that had defined his life since.

'In his remarkable second book, which follows his bestselling sports biography Sucking the Marrow Out of Life, there are lessons for us all: persistence, balance, humility, the value of community and friends, and, ultimately, self-belief.' (From the publisher's website.)

'After a near-fatal accident in 1988 left him paraplegic, John Maclean refused to sit back and let the world go by. He established a set of goals during his 4-month recuperation period, and this is the story of how he achieved them - and what he discovered about himself along the way.

'The story of a sportsman, an achiever and a compelling public speaker, Sucking the Marrow Out of Life is as moving, inspiring, funny and joyful as John himself.' (From the publisher's website.)