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Now That I Have Your Attention
By Nicolas Hamilton
Published by Octopus Books (Hachette Australia)
ISBN 9781804191712
Unless you are a keen motorsport fan, particularly British Touring Car Racing you might not be aware of Nicolas Hamilton, but after reading this book, I can say you certainly should be.
Nicolas Hamilton is a truly remarkable man. An inspiration to thousands of people, even his own family for not only overcoming the difficulties of his premature birth at a tiny 1.7kg but especially for forging a hugely successful life as a racing car driver and inspirational speaker despite having cerebral palsy or CP has he refers to it in his book.
In this memoir and book designed to be an inspiration for others who may or may not have CP or other disabilities, he shares the immense difficulties he has had to overcome and how to do so to lead a successful and fulfilling life.
It is written from the heart, full of warmth, humour, occasional swearing - not offensively at all - as he takes us on his life journey from very young child to now in his early 30's. Something I could whole heatedly relate to was that he was not willing to accept what was expected from the medics and other experts. Clearly he was determined to be a success in his own right and not to be only known as Lewis Hamilton's brother, although they do have a close relationship and share the love of motor racing.
He has overcome many physical and mental difficulties, bullying at high school and outside school because he walks differently, is shorter than most men because of the CP but he has determination and guts in bucketfulls. Nicolas explains what happened to him at high school and how he overcame the taunts including upending his wheelchair one day, leaving him stranded and unable to help himself.
Divided into seven parts, each section is Nicolas Hamilton's life lessons for persevering and overcoming difficulties including fear, to move forward using his own experiences. One of these profound situations was his near death crash at Thruxton motor racing circuit, describing his thoughts just before and after he had crashed. Another was the turning point that changed his life from taking the easier route of relying on a wheel chair to walking unaided requiring an extraordinary amount of resolve and physical and mental hard work. Other chapters include hitting rock bottom and climbing out and never going back and of course his perseverance.
The Hamilton family are close and hugely supportive and it is interesting to read how his parents did not mollycoddle him, but rather made him do things for himself to prepare him for life as an adult.The chapter written by Nicolas' mother, Linda is particularly interesting reading how she and husband Anthony dealt with the situation they discovered when he was eighteen months old and her perspective of Nicolas' development over the years.
This is an enjoyable and inspirational book for people with or without disabilities, showing what can be done with grit, determination and the right support, when others say it can't. It would be a good book for older teens / young adult reading.
The author
Nicolas Hamilton is a British racing driver who currently competes in the British Touring Car Championship.
Alongside Nicolas's racing career, he is a prolific public speaker and uses his social media platform to reach beyond fans of motorsport. He has been featured in British Vogue and worked with a variety of brands such as Meta, Amazon, and MINI to name a few, sharing his clear vision and understanding of how brands can improve diverse representation.
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you
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