I remember the first time I watched the Sandra Bullock movie, “The Blindside.” I think I was already crying about 5 minutes into the movie…it was a one-pack-of -pocket-tissue kind of movie…
Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of feisty Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother of a family who took in a homeless, African-American teenager and made him part of their family. “I Beat the Odds” is the story before (and after) “The Blindside” – written by Michael Oher, the young man and central figure of the movie.
If “The Blindside” was five stars out of five… “I Beat the Odds” is a six.
As the title implies, Michael Oher really did “beat the odds.” Michael was born in a ghetto in Memphis, Tennessee to a crack addicted mother who had 12 children from a dizzying revolving door of fathers (none of whom ever stuck around). When she was doing crack, she would lock her children out of their apartment, even when the youngest was just a year and a half. Michael and his brothers and sisters were left to them to fend for themselves until, eventually, they were all taken away from their mother and put into the foster care system.
I really can’t explain to someone who hasn’t lived in poverty what it’s like to struggle to find some kind of hope.
What makes Michael’s story so inspiring – and why it is one of my favorite books of the past several years – is that despite growing up in the worst of circumstances, he somehow managed to maintain a positive attitude and to hold on to the HOPE that he would make it out of the ghetto.
Just because your life begins in a bad place doesn’t mean it has to end there.
One of the core messages of this book is that it is possible to get out of poverty and to change your life. Contrary to what the movie presented, Michael always believed that he would make it out of the ghetto – the Tuohy family (and many others) helped him to not only make it out, but to make it all the way to the NFL. However, if they hadn’t come along, he still believes he would have made it some other way, because he was determined to make it happen. He also knew how he would get there – by getting a good education, by choosing to hang around with positive role models, and by never letting go of his dream to be a pro football player.
Having some kind of a goal is absolutely essential for kids trapped in poverty and bad family situations, because if we can’t hope that things might be better someday, then we basically lose a reason to live. It’s a lot easier to fall down, or to stay where you are, than it is to fight gravity by trying to pull yourself up.
“I Beat the Odds” is a true story and, even more than “The Blindside,” will inspire you to live your life to make a difference in someone else’s.
I always felt that God had something special planned for my life… He wanted to use me to show the world anybody can be successful, no matter who they are or what their history is. But I had to trust in that plan and be an active, real part of making it happen. I had to believe that it was possible even when it seemed it wasn’t, and work for it even when it seemed pointless. I did, and I think that’s what made the difference. (Michael Oher)
by: Lynn Nawata (Executive Director)
