Work With What You Got: A Memoir

by Zion Clark, James S. Hirsch

Elite wheelchair racer and wrestler Zion Clark joins with New York Times best-selling author James S. Hirsch for a stunning memoir—recounting childhood adversity, awe-inspiring perseverance, and self-invention.

When a baby named Zion was born in 1997 to an imprisoned, drug-addicted mother, his future seemed bleak. Born without legs due to a rare condition called caudal regression syndrome, Zion was abandoned and shunted to a foster-care system ill-equipped to care for him. In this stirring memoir, readers will follow as he is bounced from home to home, subjected to abuse, neglect, and inconceivable hardship. Somehow, Zion finds supportive angels along the way: his first two foster families, who offer a haven; the wrestling coach who senses his “warrior spirit” and nurtures it; the woman of fierce faith who adopts a seventeen-year-old and cheers his every match. From play-by-play narration of how Zion adapts wrestling moves to defeat able-bodied opponents, wielding phenomenal arm and hand strength, to accounts of his extraordinary work ethic, unflagging optimism, and motivational speaking, this is an inspirational story of courage that will appeal to any athlete who respects determination, any young person facing adversity, and any reader who wants to believe in the human spirit.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Sports, Abuse

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Zion Clark is an elite athlete, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. He is currently training for the Tokyo Paralympic games. Zion Clark lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a book club at work. We agreed that we all wanted to know more about this young man and what else he accomplishes with his life after overcoming so many obstacles.
The only thing that was a little bit of a struggle was the inspirational aspect of the book. Is it inspiration porn if it directly comes from the disabled person themselves?
Defiantly a good read, however.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I read this at my library, where it is part of our accessibility and inclusion collection as well as our YA collection. I really was blown away. As an adult, one of the most powerful parts of the book for me was seeing how impactful the small kindnesses of adults were to Zion, when he was abused and neglected and really suffering. A school bus attendant, an encouraging teacher, a coach, a friend’s mom - the respect they gave him was life affirming during his lowest moments, when he was being so badly abused and let down by the adults in his life who were supposed to keep him safe and love h. This is something I will take away with me in my work with youth.

Zion has a lot to offer the world in his story, and in particular, the way he shines light on the foster care system is really striking. Many times he talks about how he didn’t have a voice as a child, and the voices of other foster kids are ignored - especially in regard to abuse and assault. He also highlighted the struggle of foster kids who have no kinship family - the system is not designed for them. The randomness of the ways he was taken out of good foster homes and put into horrifying situations was truly chilling. He did a good job incorporating statistics as well as his own experiences. This definitely galvanized me and opened my eyes to a huge problem in society.

I’m so glad he used his voice to write this book, and I look forward to sharing it with teen and adult patrons!

Side note - I appreciated the book’s structure and length - the audiobook was around 5 hours. It is very accessible for “reluctant readers” as well as anyone who wants to take in a really striking life story in a relatively short amount of time.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zion Clark was born with with a disability that would have stopped most people in their tracks. His upper torso is fully developed but he was born without legs. His mother gave him up for adoption and he went into the foster care system. He was placed with a loving woman who he called Granny. Unfortunately, Zion was not able to stay with her and he was then moved through a series of different homes, few of which knew how to help him. Some were actually toxic. Despite all the challenges, Zion had a few people who were solidly on his side and he became his own best advocate. He became an elite wrestler and a wheelchair racer. He is an activist, speaking out for a better foster care system - and he is just getting started! This memoir speaks to how sports are a crucial place for some students to find their place as well as to have someone who believes in them and supports them. The need to overhaul the foster care system to better serve the needs of our youth is crucial as well. This is an inspiring story told without reservation - Zion does not hold back on any of the things that happened to him or about any of the decisions that he made, some of which landed him in serious trouble. CW: racism, prejudice, ableism, drug use, swearing.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

ages 13+
A super compelling story about Zion Clark who is a black man who was born without legs and was raised in the foster care system where he was abused by most homes he lived in. He had some adults in his life and a few friends who were important to him in his development and he had a lot of talent - music (1st trumpeter in high school marching band), upper body strength. He got into wrestling which helped channel his energy. Eventually adopted in high school. He is now a paralympic athlete in wheelchair racing and a motivational speaker. There is also a photo essay picture book and an 11 minute netflix documentary of his high school wrestling. I read this because a teen had picked out this book from the summer reading cart and I wanted to talk about it with her. I thought the overall story slowed down when it got into the details of wrestling. However, you could tell it was really important to him, as with wheelchair racing. The title says it all - work with what you got - and the tattoo across his back (gotten on high school graduation) is "No Excuses."

[Danielle Grise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zion was born with no legs and has always been in foster care. This autobiography follows his journey through childhood to now. Despite the abuse and neglect rampant in foster care, Zion found wrestling and a "don't quit" attitude. With the support of people who saw his potential, including his adoptive mother, he finds continually strives to better himself in all the facets of his life. This is quite an inspirational story.

[Jeanie Lydick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is inspiring. Zion was born with no legs and given up by his mother. He spent many agonizing years in foster care. He found wrestling a sport he could perform with determination and success. He never lost his desire to succeed even against great odds. He is truly a man to admire. He could have just given up but he did'nt.

[Sue Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zion Clark's story is inspirational. He had the determination to overcome the many obstacles in his way, but his story shows how important it is for young people to have loving and stable adults to care for them and help them. This is a quick read and would appeal to a variety of readers.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

a brutally honest memoir detailing Zion's life in foster care, with the subsequent lack of training provided to foster parents, and the incredible hurdles he had to mount, in order to get to where he is today. a story of resilience and courage!

[Hilary Margitich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first-person narration and voice are what make this memoir so powerful. Zion has overcome an incredible amount of adversity, and has many powerful insights about growing up disabled in the foster care system. He is a wonderful role model and incredible person.

[Adamaris Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of Zion Clark was interesting and very inspiring, I loved reading the book and I enjoyed it. It is a good book to read. It teaches us about how his life was. I’ve learned new things about this book. It was also pretty sad.

[Cindy Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring

[Elizabeth]

This book was already interesting, but I related to it better than some might because I’m an Ohioan and am familiar with all of the cities and most of the streets Zion mentioned.

[Bridgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

*an amazing and inspiring book
*heart wrenching reading about Zion's early years but so happy his life turned around for him
*well-written and easy to read
*impactful messages
*highly recommend

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zion shares his life and the ability to use his personal strength to push through, learn and be a better person to overcome obstacles and abuses.

[Zach Strassburger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid memoir from a guy who grew up in the foster care system in Ohio—with no legs.

[Meggen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story about how a young man born without legs overcomes difficulties growing up in the Ohio foster care system

[Mary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an inspiring story, woven with the awfulness of the foster care system.

[Mr. Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Netflix documentary is 11 minutes long.

Watch that instead.

[Jaden Betancourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was kind of good because it was talking about how he was living in a foster care

[Freddy Parra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book because i learn to never give up.

[Anthony Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was amazing there was so much going on for the main character he deal with so many problems but he hold strong and didn’t give up on his dreams.

[Hyrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that I work what you got

[Library To-Go]

booktalk : 11/21/24 - TG

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspirational story for anyone who feels they can't be successful in life.

[Kristi Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tattooed across Zion Clark's back are the words NO EXCUSES. While Zion could certainly claim as excuses the challenges he's faced throughout his life, he has repeatedly rejected many of the expectations others have placed on him and has become a champion athlete and an inspiration to many. His story is one of hardships, but more importantly, it's the story of family, friendship, faith, and determination.

It's a powerful book that provides a look at the life of a young man who grew up in the foster care system, has what many consider to be massive physical challenges, yet persevered and succeeded in ways no one would have ever imagined.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know enough about Clark through general coverage of who he is. My husband has followed him for years on social media. And I had recently read the picture book about him so when this book came in I wanted to give it a whirl. Then I proceeded to bring it home to my teenage son who wrestles.

Not only does Clark drop wisdom about his life, which involved dozens of traumatic foster care living situations, poor decisions, and disdain for a system that didn't give him much help growing up, but he also spends time talking about his physical health as a wrestler, drummer, and cyclist. He includes bolded mottos as a life takeaways which were well placed within the larger context of how he saw his life and the positive people who helped him see it that way too (or needed a little convincing but understood his intentions such as when he would rather walk with his arms than use prosthetics or a wheelchair or not to amputate one or both of his feet).

He touches on a number of topics that create a well-rounded memoir, for being a young guy. I'm sure there will be more to come from him. I'll definitely be sharing it (once I get it back from my son!)

"Because I read so much, I would devour books straight through and always read at a higher grade level than the one I was in. I had a better vocabulary than my peers and was always confident as a speaker. When I was eighteen or nineteen and suddenly found myself on television as a result of a documentary made about me, I was never that nervous because I felt my command of language was strong. That's the benefit of reading so much."

"Its appeal is its primal, solitary nature: it rewards strength, endurance, and will, and it demands accountability. There are no teammates who can share the credit or the blame- you're not a running back who needs a block or a power forward who needs an outlet pass. You're just one guy, ad you're on the mat against a single opponent."

"If you're losing by a huge margin in wrestling and only a few seconds remain, you can still pin your opponent before the match ends and win. That's why NEVER GIVE UP is such an important mantra among wrestlers. Until that final whistle sounds, you always have a chance."


"According to Miss Kerr, our birth mother 'marinated in ever street drug' during her pregnancy with Samuel. He was born five weeks premature, was addicted at birth to antipsychotic drugs, and was later diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome. There is no cure or treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome."

[sarkathun · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid memoir about a disabled black man who grew up in the foster care system. Though he suffered abuse and survived gang activity, he also found success in wrestling, marching band, and wheelchair racing. His "no excuses" attitude is likely born of his faith, seeds that were planted early on. Though the wrestling team ethic reeked of toxic masculinity, the discipline, the competition, and his relationship with his coach were important to building Zion's character. A very quick read.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly inspiring, at times difficult read. I’ve been booktalking this with high school students and I think Zion’s story is really compelling to them. Faith, sports, surviving the foster care system and gang activity, marching band, Zion has had a wide range of experiences in his 25 years and never lets anything stop him.