Ian's Ride: A Long-Distance Journey to Joy - April 1, 2025
“Ian’s Ride will remind you from start to finish that the quality of our life is largely what we make of it.””
““This vividly narrated story soars with inspiring grace and hope.”
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Proceeds from all sales benefit Ian’s Ride. Available in paperback and audiobook.
About…
While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, Ian Mackay crashed his bike into a tree on campus. Paralyzed from the neck down, Mackay adapted to his new life with the help of his dedicated family, particularly his mother, Teena Woodward, and a group of quirky friends. After years of despair, and against all odds, he became an inspiring leader, an innovator with Apple, and a world-record-breaking athlete. In this intimate biography based on more than one hundred hours of interviews, journal entries, and more, writer Karen Polinsky recounts Ian's accident and determined recovery, in which he discovered the healing power of nature and community.
Ian’s Ride is both a personal journey and an adventure quest for nature lovers, endurance athletes, and anyone struggling with a life-changing loss or diagnosis. This deeply moving true story examines how we exist in our bodies, adapt to and overcome adversity, and what it means to push our limits.
About the Author
A former journalist and high school teacher, Karen Polinsky is a novelist and playwright. She has written more than a dozen fully produced scripts, including two plays featured in the PDX Fertile Ground Festival, and the recent dance drama Heart of Stone. Polinsky lives in Portland, Oregon.