五体不満足 : 乙武洋匡

「五体満足さえいてくれれば、どんな子でもいいー
これから生まれてくる子供に対して、親が馳せる想いは様々だろうが、最低限の条件として、上のような言葉をよく耳にする。… 声を大にして言いたい。「障害者を持っていても、僕は毎日楽しいよ。」

This was a book I picked up to read in London and then put down for a number of months for various reasons. I have only recently decided to finish the book. It is the memoirs of a man who was born without any arms and legs.

I was initially inspired by this man who had faught hard to do the things he wanted to do without letting his disabilities get in the way. If he wanted to join the basketball club, he joined it. If he wanted to go to a certain school but had no suitable transportation, he'd walk to get there. He just hated it when it rained as then he would get a wet bum.

The book is very honest and heartwarming. He admits to not being perfect - not in terms of physical appearance, but in terms of personality. He is a sometimes arrogant man who tends to forget what problems his actions may cause others. He loves attention and brings joy and inspiration to people. But at he same time he apologises in the Afterword of the book for appearing to speak on behalf of all physically challenged people.

Personally, I found the beginning of the book, which details his early school life, to be very interesting. His family fight to get him into a 'normal' school, his teachers fight to ensure he is treated just like everyone else. The latter half of the book tends to drag a little. The Afterword is quite interesting as it talks about the impact the book had on his life and how it had the complete opposite affect than what he had originally planned.

It's an interesting book, but I don't think I'd like him if I were to ever meet him.
(Which I'm not likely to do... Haha)