$21.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 18 hrs 44 mins
In Stock
$$21.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$21.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

This Gift: The Story of Abbas Karimi, PLY Paperback – April 17, 2024

by Anita Mitchell (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$21.99","priceAmount":21.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"21","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"FG30wYp2msBI6SseNPZw2UUOrM8oLbBeV6lucKWy8q%2BzwQUdkrxEtchT4cZnQ9nOQlXs0B0%2Ba5KbPYEyZUH0vdftmyMUWfHVOxdH4mIxEhP35yosEHuynAzOCWCMCyPpmsl3fIDbTjIhj3g6zIR7qw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

What are the chances that an armless, rebellious 16-year-old from Kabul, Afghanistan, could become a swimmer in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic games?

"Tortured by misfortune and blessed beyond my wildest dreams."
...The unlikely story of how an armless Afghan boy became a world champion swimmer.

God took my arms but he gave me THIS GIFT
by Anita Mitchell

The road to the Olympics and Paralympics comes from unlikely places and often reveals the best of humanity. Abbas' journey from Kabul, Afghanistan to Turkish refugee camps to the Tokyo Paralympic Games has been profiled in the New York Times, CNN and News Nation. He has been interviewed by Angelina Jolie and Khaled Hosseini and has one of the most inspiring stories in the world.
The future looked bleak for Abbas when he was born armless. With so many other problems in Kabul, people with disabilities there are a low priority. After years of being bullied for being different, he sought refuge and peace in the water where he learned to swim and began to compete.
If 15-year-old Abbas wanted to excel with his unusual skill as a swimmer, he knew that he had to leave his large and close family. How he left, how he traveled through Iran, how he petitioned the UNHCR to come to the United States, how he made the Tokyo refugee Paralympic team, how he became a US citizen and what complications ensued in his life is a beacon of triumph and a salute to the human spirit.
Abbas is a role model not only for people with disabilities, but for anyone with a lofty goal where detours are placed along the way.
Abbas always had a champion's mindset, whether it was in how he played marbles, performed martial arts or eventually excelled to world class levels in Paralympic swimming.

Abbas is training with Swim Fort Lauderdale Masters Swim Team for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

"Beneath Abbas's humility, his politeness and boyish charms, is a bottomless reserve of grit and steel. How else to explain the extraordinary arc of his young life? You would be hard-pressed to come up with a more unlikely story. Born armless, in the midst of conflict, in one of the poorest nations on earth, Abbas leaves home, becomes a refugee, travels halfway across the world, and somehow ends up representing his birthplace before the whole world in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Abbas has shown us all what human will is capable of. He is an inspiration to anybody with a dream and obstacles lying in the path to it. Whenever I think of him, what he has accomplished, everything seems a little more possible. He is one of my heroes."

Khaled Hosseini

Award-winning author of The Kite Runner, And the Mountains Echoed, Sea Prayer, and A Thousand Splendid Suns

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    242 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    April 17, 2024
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.55 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-13
    979-8988189152
  6. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D16J2D5J
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CG Sports Publishing (April 17, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8988189152
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.55 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Arlene Sacks
5.0 out of 5 stars The Journey of A Hero.
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
The inspirational journey of Abbas, born armless, who becomes a refugee yet whose destiny is in the Tokyo Paralympics in swimming; to serve as an ambassador as well as a motivational speaker.
The author, Anita Mitchell, has taken all of his courageous and heartfelt experiences and created an opportunity for all reading this book to travel his road with him. We join him from Kabul to Turkey and ultimately to Portland, Colorado Springs, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Somehow the author transitions his strong will to the reader by having us endure his struggles and successes as he lives through and conquers them. We are introduced to those people who supported and guided him and the philosophies that kept him going
The book is a privilege to read as is his heroicism.
His movement forward through life becomes a roadmap for all of us. The book is exciting, real, and does something special by offering the reader to join an extraordinary human being on his extraordinary journey through life.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., ("Dr. Gramma Karen")
5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinary, well-told story!
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
Anita Mitchell is to be commended for weaving the many threads comprising Abbas Karimi’s story into a tapestry of determination, inspiration, encouragement, and most of all, friendship. His journey from Kabul to the United States and becoming a Paralympic swimmer could not have happened were it not for the many helping hands supporting him along the way, most notably, Marty Hendrick, his swim coach.

No one can think about this book without including the word “inspiring.” As Abbas himself writes about his sporting philosophy, “When I die, I want people to know that I, Abbas Karimi, without any arms, never gave up on my dreams and my goals. I can do something to change the world and I can do that by being a champion, a Paralympic champion.”

I am truly inspired!
Helpful
 Report
Doris
5.0 out of 5 stars Anita Mitchell has written a true-life story of courage and faith, bringing hope to all.
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
Abbas Karimi was born without arms, yet became a champion Paralympic swimmer. His amazing story is told by one who knows him well, his Fort Lauderdale swim instructor Anita Mitchell. A former producer for Channel 7 news in Miami, Anita knows what makes a good story. The book is an inspiration to all.
Helpful
 Report
Teresa Coffman
5.0 out of 5 stars Limitless inspiration!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
A phenomenal read. I laughed. I cried. But most of all I was inspired. Such a young life so well lived!!!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report