The Ultimate Learning Experience

by Chris Skinner

"The Ultimate Learning Experience" is a passionate story of the author's own personal experiences. We feel this book is unique, both in the story and in the way it is presented. His book describes a journey of a young man through a reckless college experience into maturity with a triumph over a tragedy that would challenge even the most determined individual. It appeals to our inner souls on many levels. In a youthful approach, Mr. Skinner takes us up to the moment of a tragic accident where after a night of drinking with his fraternity brothers, the party ended in a near-fatal automobile accident. The description of the accident and the moments that follow force you to personally identify with him. The reader actually feels like he or she is part of the scene. He describes waking from a coma two weeks later in a sterile, white room filled with machines, unable to speak, only to find that he faces life as a quadriplegic. It was a defining moment in his life and as a result, Chris Skinner gained a new perspective. He literally grows up before your eyes. Throughout the book, Mr. Skinner breaks into his story telling to share insights and to point out lessons to be learned from his experiences. He is able to do this without preaching to the reader. His honesty and vulnerability touches us in a way we didn’t expect when we picked up the book to begin our journey. He chose to include his mother’s journal to describe the events that occurred during the time he was unconscious. Her words convey yet another perspective to the reader – the viewpoint of the family involved. It clearly shows how the decisions of this young man affected his family and friends in an unforgettable way. The raw emotions of her journal will tear at your heart. Readers will gain a new appreciation for the value of the decisions they make every day. They are encouraged to put their own challenges into perspective and believe they can achieve their most desired goals. The book is appealing to readers of all ages…with valuable lessons for everyone, young and old alike.

ebook

First published October 4, 2004

Reviews

[Pam Dobis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story, what a true inspiration Chris was too many people and his story will continue to touch many lives ! His courage and ability to inspire others is a gift from God that he used in multitudes. May God continue to bless his family and hold them in the palm of His hands as He now holds Chris. ❤️🙏

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The choices in our lives have consequences. Bad choices can leave you dead, or in Chris Skinner’s situation, a quadriplegic.

Chris was just a college kid who liked to party – drink and take drugs and hang out with his fraternity brothers. He was a smart kid, but did poorly at school, because he was more interested in having a good time than studying. He was a good-looking kid and liked meeting girls too and just having a good time. He wasn’t hurting anyone, but himself, really, for his grades were suffering and his drinking and drugs were getting out-of-hand. One night after getting drunk at a wedding reception, he took a ride home from a friend, who was also drunk. Chris took off his seat belt as he was chewing tobacco and wanted to be able to spit it from the window. Suddenly the driver lost control of the car. The car crashed and overturned, and the next thing, Chris finds himself in the hospital with a broken spinal cord in his neck. Chris never does mention what kind of amends he has made with the driver, if any.

Nonetheless, Chris writes about his life in college leading up to the accident and his life dealing with his situation at the hospital, and in rehab, and afterwards. He became interested in the church which helped him to stop drinking, since he still would drink some after his accident. He also became a motivational speaker, telling kids at colleges to think about their consequences before they make poor choices that could ruin their lives and/or possibly others. Chris had a lot of support from his mother and his siblings, particularly his sister, which helped give him the push to survive his ordeal.

His accident happened in June 2000. I googled him to see what he is up to now and unfortunately found that passed away in September 2021, when he was 40, from asphyxiation due to drowning after being discovered in a neighborhood pool in South Carolina where he lived with his wife, son, and daughter.

Copyrighted in 2004, what I liked about his book is Chris’ honesty. He doesn’t make excuses for what happened to him. He mentions his immediate denial, depression and frustration in his limitations after his injury, and I am glad that once he started to adjust to his new life, he made it his mission to try and encourage others not to drive intoxicated. I live in a college town and if Chris were alive today, I would try to see if somehow the college could provide funding for Chris to come talk to these students. He might also remind them how serious it is not to text and drive as well. Lyft is very popular in my town and I have encouraged students myself that if they are drinking and cannot get a designated non-drinking driver, to be sure to arrange for some transportation or use a Lyft – since unfortunately public transportation is very limited in my Texas town. Everyone thinks, “Well, nothing bad will happen to me,” but it might.

I am sorry for Chris’ short life of 40 years, but it sounds like, within his last approximately twenty years, he certainly tried to make the best of it.