We're Stronger Together
- Details
- Category: Authors
- Published: Tuesday, 14 August 2018 06:00
We’re all better together than we are on our own. Read more for Care's KIDS Wednesday Bookmark interview with author, illustrator and real-life best friends Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck.
Purchase "The Push: A Story of Friendship" online at booksforchrist.com.
(Originally aired April 4, 2018)
Book Description: When Marcus moved next door to John, they knew instantly they’d be friends. Now John and Marcus do almost everything together. They go on lots of adventures, with Marcus pushing John’s wheelchair and John fueling their escapades with jokes. Through their friendship, the boys discover that their unique gifts make them stronger together.
Based on the friendship of real-life best friends Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck, The Push teaches kids that people of all abilities have important roles to play and that we’re all better together than we are on our own.
About the Author/Illustrator: Born in the same small town just a few days apart, Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck have been
blessed with a unique relationship. Their childhood adventures and shared interests make for many
moments of laughter, joy, and shared memories. At fifteen years of age, a car accident triggered a
dormant disease in Justin's body resulting in a life lived in a wheelchair.
Though life led Justin and Patrick down different paths and to colleges a thousand miles apart, their
childhood friendship has not only survived, but has thrived in their adult years. This relationship has been
put to the test by distance, time apart, and Justin's progressive neuromuscular disease, but the two grow
closer with each passing year and each new adventure.
In 2014, these lifelong friends did the impossible—together they tackled a 500-mile pilgrimage through
Spain known as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James. While most people attempt this epic
journey on foot, Justin traveled the entire distance in his wheelchair, pushed by Patrick (and others). As
Patrick physically pushed Justin over mountains, through deserts, and across fields, Justin pushed
Patrick, mentally and emotionally, beyond fear and insecurity, into a whole new world of joy and freedom.
Their journey is a brilliant metaphor for the lives they have been blessed to live. Just as neither could
have accomplished the rigorous trek on his own, their successes in life are largely attributed to the way
they have pushed each other, and the way they have allowed others to push them.
Now they work together, sharing unapologetic words of hope and faith through their writing and speaking,
as they share the message that we can achieve more together.
Both men love music, road trips, and driving their wives crazy.
Justin lives in Eagle, Idaho, with his wife, Kirstin, and their three children: Jaden, Noah, and Lauren.
Patrick lives in nearby Meridian, Idaho, with his wife Donna, and their three children: Cambria, Joshua,
and Olivia.
Connect:
