Reading Log #1 (gifted hands)

“Gifted Hands” is a true story of a young boy named Ben Carson. He has anger problems but through faith and determination, he grows up to become one of the World’s leading paediatric neurosurgeons. Before when Ben was in school, his peers called the “class dummy”. His mother keeps encouraging to keep going and succeed, and he discovered the love of learning. He later learns that anything is possible with determination.

The most inspiring part of the book for me, was when Ben was in surgery serperating conjoined twins. He worked so hard and was majorly determined to have a successfull surgery. Ben Carson was a paediatric neurosurgeon. He stayed up 28 hours, working so hard to seperate the babies conjoined heads. Although he was tired he didn’t give up. It shows Ben had a strong, diligent personality which he was most known for. “Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as a containing fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.” – Ben Carson.

I believe the author of this novel, Ben Carson, was trying to get the message across that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Another point made throughout the novel, is that you can be anything you want to be, when you are determined enough to work hard for the success you want to have later in life, everyone has a chance to strive and reach their full potential. “do what you have to do to be what you want to be”. For example, when Ben was only in his teens, he was called “class dummy”. Despite all of the teasing and bad grades, Ben kept on trying. He started to study hard during night and his grades only started to rise. Ben became very intelligent and turned out to be very well known for his inspiring hard work he had succeeded in.

Gifted hands by Ben Carson had an impact on the way I saw things before hand. It taught me that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. I would recommend this book to everyone who trying to find a motivating story. Many people give up on the dream they were working towards by the put downs they receive from the people around them. This book teaches you that you should always have perseverance despite the people around you to get where you want to get to in life.