Tough as They Come by SSG Travis Mills with Marcus Brotherton

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I have mixed feelings on this review. This is an amazing story about overcoming extreme difficulty. On his third deployment to Afghanistan, Travis set his back pack down and ignited an IED. He lost all four limbs and become the fifth quadruple amputee to have survived after being wounded in war. His determination is an example for all going through tough times. His motto: "Never Give Up. Never Quit." I can learn from it.

Travis tells the story of his childhood and up and then the months of recovery and rehab he went through to be able to take care of his family again. Today, he can drive, make his daughter breakfast, go skiing, etc. etc. He has started a foundation and bought property to make a retreat for wounded veterans to go to for encouragement and sports activities, etc.

The thing I didn't like about the book is Travis comes across as a little over the top. God gets next to no credit for anything though he professes Christianity. He admits to pretty much never praying during deployment. He would carry a Bible, but never talks about reading it. I don't want to judge where he is at spiritually. He does mention God more after his injuries, so maybe he is on a journey. I also didn't care for some of the mildly crude language and stories he shared.

In his defense, while I thought the book came from a Christian source, I'm actually not sure it does and so that does make a difference to me. If the book is advertised as Christian, to me it falls a bit short. I wouldn't want my children reading it until they were pretty mature and able to handle some crudeness, like 30 maybe :) :) But as far as a story of determination and resilience, it's an excellent read and an encouragement that life is what we make of it and I want to live life to the fullest.

This book was given me by Blogging for Books for the purpose of reading and writing a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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