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Look No Hands!
Brian Gault is one of the 450 survivors of the 'miracle-drug' Thalidomide's exposure to the British market in the mid-twentieth century. To the shock of his parents, he was born with no arms.
Otherwise physically and mentally fit and able, Brian has struggled throughout his life to overcome the restrictions society has tried to place on him, beginning with the cumbersome prosthetic arms of his childhood, which he had to sabotage to escape wearing them!
Brian's story is lively, funny, challenging and moving and centres around his call to Christian faith.
With a foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada.
Otherwise physically and mentally fit and able, Brian has struggled throughout his life to overcome the restrictions society has tried to place on him, beginning with the cumbersome prosthetic arms of his childhood, which he had to sabotage to escape wearing them!
Brian's story is lively, funny, challenging and moving and centres around his call to Christian faith.
With a foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada.
- GenresChristian
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 21, 2024
Number of pages: 240
Genre: Non-fiction Biography
Series: N/A
Age recommendation: 15+
Summary: Thalidomide babies were very common during the 60’s and 70’s. This “miracle drug” was prescribed to pregnant mothers to help deal with morning sickness. What the women didn’t know was that thalidomide affected the development of the children, causing thousands of babies to be born without limbs. This is Brian Gault’s story of growing up without arms.
My thoughts: Sadly, this book was not as good as I was expecting. I was kind of bored; the writing wasn’t drawing me into the story, even though I think it’s a good story. I didn't like how it would switch from first person to third person randomly throughout the chapters (more so in the earlier chapters when Brian was little). I understand that the content was relying more on his parents’ experiences than his own, however it made the story confusing (i.e. who was speaking and who was being referred to).
I liked that Brian was very concerned with following God’s will, but I found that salvation wasn’t well explained (or maybe I just missed something). Also, when he goes to a Bible school it’s required for all the men and women to preach. Brian wonders if the world isn’t losing something by not having women preachers. As a girl, I know I have valuable things to share, but it is not our role to speak in meetings of the church - Paul makes that pretty clear in 1 Timothy. God has an order for things, and when we try to change things because we think we know better, we mess things up.
I was really thinking that this book would be similar to Nick Vujicic's story, but while some of their struggles were similar, Nick’s book was a lot more interesting to read. That being said, there was a lot more in Brian’s book about serving God and doing ministry work which I appreciated.
I felt so bad for Brian when he talked about how much he hated his prosthetics. I can see it from both sides of the story: people legitimately believing this would make him better off and others who saw how much he hated it and knew he could survive without them. It’s really sad how Brian felt like everyone was telling him he wasn’t good enough because he didn’t have arms, and made him feel like he had to wear them to be accepted. I love that Brian finally got to get rid of them as a teen, because it was killing him to keep wearing them.
One story I found really cool is when Brian rescued his friend from drowning in a pool. I think that’s pretty amazing for a guy without arms!
Overall, even though it wasn’t exactly all I hoped, it was a pretty good book that I would recommend.
My personal rating: 3.5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Non-fiction Biography
Series: N/A
Age recommendation: 15+
Summary: Thalidomide babies were very common during the 60’s and 70’s. This “miracle drug” was prescribed to pregnant mothers to help deal with morning sickness. What the women didn’t know was that thalidomide affected the development of the children, causing thousands of babies to be born without limbs. This is Brian Gault’s story of growing up without arms.
My thoughts: Sadly, this book was not as good as I was expecting. I was kind of bored; the writing wasn’t drawing me into the story, even though I think it’s a good story. I didn't like how it would switch from first person to third person randomly throughout the chapters (more so in the earlier chapters when Brian was little). I understand that the content was relying more on his parents’ experiences than his own, however it made the story confusing (i.e. who was speaking and who was being referred to).
I liked that Brian was very concerned with following God’s will, but I found that salvation wasn’t well explained (or maybe I just missed something). Also, when he goes to a Bible school it’s required for all the men and women to preach. Brian wonders if the world isn’t losing something by not having women preachers. As a girl, I know I have valuable things to share, but it is not our role to speak in meetings of the church - Paul makes that pretty clear in 1 Timothy. God has an order for things, and when we try to change things because we think we know better, we mess things up.
I was really thinking that this book would be similar to Nick Vujicic's story, but while some of their struggles were similar, Nick’s book was a lot more interesting to read. That being said, there was a lot more in Brian’s book about serving God and doing ministry work which I appreciated.
I felt so bad for Brian when he talked about how much he hated his prosthetics. I can see it from both sides of the story: people legitimately believing this would make him better off and others who saw how much he hated it and knew he could survive without them. It’s really sad how Brian felt like everyone was telling him he wasn’t good enough because he didn’t have arms, and made him feel like he had to wear them to be accepted. I love that Brian finally got to get rid of them as a teen, because it was killing him to keep wearing them.
One story I found really cool is when Brian rescued his friend from drowning in a pool. I think that’s pretty amazing for a guy without arms!
Overall, even though it wasn’t exactly all I hoped, it was a pretty good book that I would recommend.
My personal rating: 3.5/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
March 8, 2019
Very inspirational. A challenge to accept the way we are made. There are different ways we may be able, rather than focus on the ways we might consider ourselves unable. Then to seek diligently how we can use our individual skills and abilities for helping others.
April 9, 2022
An interesting read from Brian Gault, born with no hands as a result of Thalidomide. Most notably, he views himself as unique rather than disabled. This mindset and his strength of character has enabled him to thrive and overcome the challenges he faces.
January 22, 2022
Very enjoyable book. Easy to read. looks into Brian's life and his challenges as a victim of Thalidomide. This is a very encouraging book.
April 28, 2023
SO powerful and inspiring!
September 1, 2024
Wow what a great book. So inspirational and what a challenge!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews