Blood, Sweat & Steel

by Curtis McGrath

Soldier, champion, great Australian -an extraordinary story of triumph over tragedy In 2012, combat engineer Curtis McGrath was serving in the Australian army in Afghanistan when, in the line of duty, he stepped on a mine. Instantly, both his legs were blown off. Still conscious but aware that he would bleed out and die within minutes, McGrath, as the unit's chief first-aid officer, directed his comrades to apply tourniquets and administer an IV and morphine. Then, as he was stretchered to a helicopter, fearing he would never see his family again, he joked that he planned to become a Paralympian.

Just months later, he was up and walking on prosthetic legs, motivated by the opportunity to march with his unit during their welcome home ceremony. Then he took up kayaking and the sport gave him a new sense of purpose. In 2013, he and his father, Paul, paddled 1,000 kilometres from Sydney to Queensland to raise funds for Mates4Mates, which supports current and former Defence Force members who have suffered physical or psychological wounds as a result of their service. A year later, McGrath captained the Australian team at the inaugural Invictus Games in London, founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or ill veterans. Within four years of his injury, McGrath had won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in the K1 200-metre KL2 Paracanoe event.

Now an ambassador for the Invictus Games and passionate about the healing power of sport, McGrath is an 8-time World Champion gold medallist with his eye on the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. At last he ready to tell his extraordinary story.

Genres: Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

Published August 16, 2022

Reviews

[rachel, x]

3.00 ★

an interesting memoir about an aussie paralympian. too focused on the military elements for my personal preference though.

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[Luke Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read which explored the worlds of both war and elite sport. It was an inspiring read and worth the time. Quite a few editing issues that I noticed along the way, which was a little unusual.

[Smr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book after watching the Invictus Games and Paralympics and seeing Curtis interviewed on the coverage. Clearly his feats are extraordinary and his advocacy for his fellow soldiers and athletes impressive and worthy of attention, particularly of the able-bodied.

Though the story was incredible, the writing and editing lacked something and I was surprised that the writing did not reflect the person I have seen interviewed. Neither did the audiobook tone reflect person I saw interviewed.

Curtis is clearly a remarkable human and I could watch him paddle all day. There was loud cheering at our house. The book was an easy style of reading, and I appreciate his insights into the enormous challenges he has faced.

Thanks Curtis for sharing your story, your hard work, advocacy and the joy you bring to others.

[Luke Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually struggle with Audiobooks, especially when they are not read by the author however this book captivated me like no other.

I was drawn to Curtis's story for his Paralympic feats however I found myself perhaps even more interested in the first half of the book covering his time in the military which is not something I usually read about.

The story in inspirational and I loved Curtis's attitude on life even after 'the incident'. I would recommend this book to anyone with even a small interest in the military or sport, and even to those who don't.

[Kim Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an engaging book with a great combination of storytelling and technical facts.

There were moments such as when he saw his legs un-bandaged for the first time that I had some tears.

This is the kind of person I would like to sit and have a beer with.

[Philip Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent autobiography overall. The ‘second half’ of the book feels rushed, almost like the author doesn’t give enough credit to what he is accomplishing. Few grammatical/editing errors don’t help this either. Solid and worth the read overall though.

[Bron°•°•☆☆•°•° · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very easy to read. In fact, i read it in one day. Curtis's story is very inspiring and emotional.
Thank you for sharing.

[Sean Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book quite a lot however the editing of this book was quite rushed as the number of errors was quite a lot. Loved the positivity shown by Curtis

[Adam Wynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Very inspirational! Will be interested to hear and see what he does next!

[Hilly]

Q

[Jo-anne Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. What Curtis was able to achieve is amazing. He may have been born a Kiwi but he truely embodies what we think of as a true blue Aussie.

[David]

I need to re-borrow this to finish reading. It was engrossing and a great story of courage.

[Georgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

[Sandi Shuttleworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a fan of war history and inspiring stories, this book incorporates both aspects really well.