Unmasked: An inspirational story of triumph over adversity by Turia Pitt

Random House, 2018. Young Adult edition. ISBN 9780143790396
(Age: Young adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Resilience, Adversity, Goal-setting, Physical injury. Turia Pitt tells her inspirational story for young adults. There is no doubt her account of surviving horrific burns and learning to live life with gratitude despite the horrors of her experience will be inspiring and challenging for young readers. The fierce competitive and dogged resilience that has always marked her life is really put to the test as she learns to put one foot in front of the other - either in recovery or on an ultra-marathon.  The love and support of her partner in life, Michael, is also a story of strong, masculine devotion that should be read by young men too. This is not just a story for girls. As difficult as the circumstances that Turia has faced, her advice for young readers is powerful and important, and because of her experience will echo through the emptiness of a self-centred culture.
Written mostly from Turia's perspective, she does however include the voices of family and friends whose lives were also impacted by the trauma of Turia's burns. Advice for surviving adversity and difficulties in life is also given, with her perspective adding power to these words.
Photo pages for reference are included in the centre of the book.
Carolyn Hull