Ian's Ride

A Long-Distance Journey to Joy

208 pages
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 978-1-68051-742-2
Published: Mar 15, 2025

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Description

While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, Ian Mackay crashed his bike into a tree on campus. Paralyzed from the shoulders 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.

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Details

208 pages
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 978-1-68051-742-2
Published: Mar 15, 2025

Reviews

Fast-paced and honest to the bone, Ian’s Ride is a well-told story about the powers of perseverance and love. Ian’s resolve is breathtaking, but so is his mother’s and that of his family, friends and caregivers. The book is both a harrowing adventure and a guide to the unthinkable challenges of being a quadriplegic or caring for one. Peppered with real-time observations, the narrative builds to a profound understanding of what we are capable of accomplishing. But perhaps more importantly, Ian’s Ride shows us how rewarding it can be to help people.
— Jim Lynch, author of The Highest Tide
This vividly narrated story soars with inspiring grace and hope. Ian Mackay’s life testifies that while a devastating injury may end one possible future, it can open a door to bigger dreams, closer friends and lovers, and passionate work that shapes the wider world. Ian’s courageous ride through despair to personal joy is a gift for readers to remember and call on in our own difficult times.
— Carol Cassella, author of Oxygen
A gripping story of recovery, healing, and resilience. With Ian’s Ride, Ian Mackay provides an innovative and vital blueprint for improving and expanding accessibility to nature and the outdoors for people with disabilities.
— David Davis, author of Wheels of Courage
After becoming a quadriplegic in his twenties, Ian Mackay could have chosen a lot of reactions--building a successful, purposeful life seemed the least likely. Yet, with the help of his family and community, Ian did just that. Ian’s Ride will remind you from start to finish that the quality of our life is largely what we make of it.
— Heather Anderson, author of Mud, Rocks, & Blazes