"Iron heart: The true story of how I came back from the dead" by Bryan Boyle
Iron heart narrates the poignant journey of a 18 year-old who was hit by a car, coming out of swim practice, and left for dead. Written and is narrated by Bryan Boyle himself, it depicts his recovery from a drug induced coma that left him "locked in" for over 2 months. The book takes us on intimate journey where the will to endure, survive, and overcome were what kept the author with us. It is a unique perspective on life, challenges, and the impossible.
I enjoyed the book transparency, honesty, and vivid writing style. The story and its perspective was enough to take me from page one to the end of the book without lifting my head. It is a book about hope, hope in the simplest of its form.
There are stories out there that tell of unlikely recovery, the man with the Halo for example who follows the great Tim Dom after his own car accident - but there are few books that I know off narrative from the first person what it is to be "locked in"; if anything this is one of a kind.
"Brian, can you hear me?" she says loudly into my right ear, startling me. "If you can hear me, blink your eyes. No? Okay, can you squeeze my hand?" She grabs my right hand. "Come on, I know you can do it, buddy. Squeeze my hand just a little bit." She gives it a subtle squeeze but she gets no response in return -no movement whatsoever. "We are all waiting for you to get better. Just hang in there."
