Work with What You Got: A Memoir

Elite wheelchair racer, wrestler, and America's Got Talent contestant 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.

Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 04/11/2023
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.2lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781536224214
Age: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.8
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 519822 / Work with What You Got


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 02/27/2023
Booklist 03/01/2023 pg. 37

About the Author
Zion Clark is an elite athlete, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur, as well as the coauthor, with James S. Hirsch, of Zion Unmatched. He was featured in a short Netflix documentary and has appeared in segments on NBC's Nightly News, CNN's The Human Factor, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He lives in Los Angeles.

James S. Hirsch is a New York Times best-selling author of several books, including Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter; Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race Massacre and Its Legacy; and Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend. He is also the coauthor, with Zion Clark, of Zion Unmatched. He lives outside of Boston.