Books like Paralyzed by Jeff Rud

Bill Bryson humorously chronicles a two–person hike along the Appalachian Trail, mixing lively anecdotes with insightful looks at its history, ecology, and the people who live along the route.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

A groundbreaking work that explains how trauma rewires the brain and body, and presents evidence‑based therapies—from neurofeedback to yoga—that unlock the mind’s natural capacity for healing.

Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi’s poignant memoir chronicles his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer and his reflections on life, medicine, and mortality.

Louis Zamperini’s extraordinary journey from Olympic gold‑medalist to a World War II bombardier, through a Pacific plane crash, 47 days adrift, and harrowing imprisonment by the Japanese, is a gripping tale of survival and resilience.

High‑schooler Rafe returns to Hills Village Middle School, where he faces new challenges: special‑education classes, a reluctant football team, and the looming threat of his bully‑turned‑teammate. Determined to beat his past, he plans a bold art project and aims for both academic and athletic success.

A sports novel about a teenager's chance to throw a football for a million dollars, set against the backdrop of family struggles and disability.

Fly Guy joins Buzz the cricket’s football team and, against the coach’s doubts, lands a secret play on the field, making a buzz in this humorous, animal‑centric story about teamwork and friendship.

A football captain, Jordan Woods is determined to protect her team and her scholarship to a prestigious university. But when a hot new quarterback transfers to her high school, she's forced to face her deepest desires and insecurities.

After a summer move, sixteen‑year‑old Marcus Jordan, a high‑school quarterback, bonds with a retired linebacker who trains him—but their quirky friendship sends Marcus into trouble.

In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor in chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a forty-three-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brain stem. After twenty days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body that had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail, blinking to select letters one by one as a special alphabet was slowly recited to him, over and over again. In the same way, he was eventually able to compose this extraordinary book. By turns wistful, mischievous, angry and witty, Bauby bears witness to his determination to live as fully in his mind as he had been able to in his body. He explains the joy, and the deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the phone. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times; of lying next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the full flavor of delectable dishes. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him.

Chris Conlan is the cool, football-playing eighth grader, while Scott Parry is the new kid with a brain. These two become friends despite their differences.