Tourfolio

A ‘double take’ is defined as a rapid or surprised second look, either literally or figurative, at a person or situation whose significance has not been completely grasped at first. Kevin Connolly is a twenty-three year old man who has seen the world in a way that a large majority of us will never get to see. He was born with no legs but has competed in the Winter X Games (mono-ski), traveled the world on a skateboard (he decided against a wheelchair and prosthetic legs) and took more than 33,000 photographs of people staring at him (The Rolling Exhibition). Kevin Connolly, in 227 pages, brings readers on a inward reflection on how we view ourselves and what it is to truly see another person.

Double Take by Kevin Connolly (Tourfolio.com)

The next book in this series of post is Double Take. I picked this book up on Christmas Eve and was able to finish it in about 3 hours – I was attached to reading it as you can tell.

Who would like this book:

This book is great for travelers who occasionally do ‘double-takes’ on people they pass in cafes, offbeat streets, nightclubs and well known landmarks. Throughout the book, Kevin Connolly does a wonderful job illustrating important moments in life – such as his mom and him playing a necessary situational based game to build his confidence to his love interest Beth. It’s human instinct for us to make first judgments and then assume a strangers history based on our personal experiences and thoughts. I know I’ve been guilty of this when it comes to seeing beggars or the homeless as countless stories and Hollywood movies has basically taught me the stereotypical history. For the beggars, we sometimes automatically assume there must be some sort of criminal syndicate and the homeless person is just going to buy alcohol or drugs. Continuing with this, I honestly would have probably fallen into the same questioning in my mind if I passed by Kevin Connolly – similar to the war veteran asking Kevin if he still wears his dog tags from the Iraqi war after a mortar round blew off his legs.

Who wouldn’t like this book:

My only complaint with this book is that I finished it so quickly! Kevin Connolly’s Double Take only covers small glimpses of his personal life and challenges so you might be a bit disappointed if you were expecting very detailed stories of how he dealt with being born with no legs.

My favorite line:

…But less often do we want to know about people’s country or culture or family that constructs the real narrative behind who they are…so maybe the reason I’ve been frustrated at times by the question “What the hell happened to you?” is because it’s simply the wrong one to pose.

More about the author and how to purchase the book:

Check out Kevin Connolly’s trailer for his memoir – Double Take:
http://www.vimeo.com/6934037
You can also follow him on Twitter or become a fan of his on Facebook or visit his blog.

If this book sounds something that you, family member or friend would enjoy, please click on this link to purchase from Amazon.