measuring tape
a measure of endurance the unlikely triumph of steven sharp
a measure of endurance knocked me down . i read it in two sittings fascinated by its harrowing story and its tale of courage and integrity ... . this is one of those rare books that prove once more the worth of human spirit at its best when most challenged . kent haruf author plainsong now in paperback this book records the remarkable heartwarming story of a courageous teenage boy who after being gravely injured while using a farm machine takes on its powerful manufacturer and wins . steven sharp was a hardworking energetic sixteen year old growing up happily in a tiny farming community in the eastern oregon high desert . his family was his harbor . nothing pleased him more than the outdoor life fending for himself in the nearby mountains . in the last hour of the last day of a summer job on a local ranch his life was changed forever when a huge baler suddenly and mysteriously turned itself on and severed both his arms . slipping in and out of consciousness and stumbling through a field he followed a fence to a nearby house . soon he was on an airplane and hoping time was on his side . his recovery was amazing . he maintained his optimism and zest for living and returned to school joking to reassure his classmates on what could have been an awkward first day back . eventually he was back in his beloved mountains hunting and fishing with the hospitals prosthetics and his own rigged up rifle compensating for his missing arms . he was always convinced that the machine had malfunctioned but had no intention to seek redress farm life has its risks and compensations . by a quirk of fate however a friend recalled a notice in a three year old magazine and he learned that others hadbeen injured while using the same kind of machine . how with the help of a brilliant and idealistic trial lawyer named bill manning whose commitment to steven seemed something of a completion of his own spiritual journey steven took on the multinational multibillion dollar company withstood their counterattack and emerged triumphant .