COAL MINE TO COURTROOM

In this memoir, a man recounts the terrible accident that left him a quadriplegic for life and the spiritual faith that stewarded him through his troubles.

Adams was born in 1957 in Kentucky and largely grew up in Dawson Springs, a small town dominated by the coal mining industry. His father, an “abusive drunkard,” was a coal miner; the author had no intention of following in his footsteps, aspiring to become a professional basketball player instead. But when an injury waylaid that dream, he took a job in the mines, too, and suffered a terrible accident that left him with a broken neck. Only 19 years old, he was now a quadriplegic and would use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. During physical rehabilitation, though, he began listening to tape recordings of the Bible, an experience that awakened a faith that would guide him through times of profound depression: “Even in the darkest, loneliest moments in rehab, I never questioned my faith. I sensed such a closeness to Jesus. I thought of him as a superhero.” Adams would eventually go to college and then graduate from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University in 1987. The author relates his story in terms both lucid and admirably candid—he certainly succeeds in avoiding a “sappy, sanitized recitation of happy facts.” In addition, his remembrance is a remarkably inspirational one—saddled with terrible burdens, the author found not only professional accomplishments, but also peace of mind. Still, this is a distinctively personal memoir, conveyed in minute detail and replete with personal photographs, and, as a result, it seems designed to be best appreciated by those who know him. Nonetheless, while this recollection is unlikely to garner a wide readership, it will undoubtedly prove stirring to Adams’ circle of family, friends, and colleagues.

An intriguing but idiosyncratic account of an impressive life.