Blood, Sweat and Steel

by Curtis McGrath

From Afghanistan to Paralympic gold -- an extraordinary tale of tragedy, resilience and triumph

In 2012, Combat Engineer Curtis McGrath was serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan when, in the line of duty, he stepped on a land mine. Seriously injured but still conscious and aware he'd bleed out and die within minutes, Curtis, 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, Curtis was up and walking on prosthetic legs, motivated by the opportunity to march with his unit in their welcome-home ceremony. Kayaking gave him a new sense of purpose and, in 2013, he and his father, Paul, paddled more than 700 kilometres from Sydney to Brisbane to raise funds for Mates4Mates, which supports current and former Defence Force members. A year later, Curtis captained the Australian team at the inaugural Invictus Games in London, founded by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or ill veterans. Then, within four years of his injury, Curtis won gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Now a ten-time world champion gold medallist, Curtis recently stormed to victory at the Tokyo Paralympics to bring home two more Paralympic gold medals for Australia. Passionate about the power of sport to transform lives, he's ready at last to share his extraordinary story, and how he has approached every setback and challenge with courage, resilience, humour and grit.

Genres: Nonfiction

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2021

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.