The 2017 Illumination Book Awards honored Gathering Courage: A Life-Changing Journey Through Adoption, Adversity, and a Reading Disability, with the SILVER, Enduring Light Medals Award, for Christian Thought.
"There's a straightforwardness to the writing style that moves along at a lovely cozy pace... Her story is a testament to the power of having positive influences / people in one's life, how a simple kind word... just the display of someone having faith in you... can sometimes be enough to move mountains... McMullin's way of telling her story, as well as certain details of her life she relates, reminded me a bit of the life and books of Temple Grandin. Similarly inspiring, that's for sure!" EpicFehlReader
"Gathering Courage by T.A. McMullin is an American story filled with adversity, triumphs, heartbreaks and great personal victory. T.A. McMullin will transport your mind through the epic words of a female pioneer who never gives up no matter the challenges she faced! ... I held my breath after every chapter and you will too!" Charmaine Caraway - The Visionary Woman
"Overall, this memoir is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit in the face of emotional and physical pain. The author consistently notes the need for love and encouragement when dealing with both people and animals as well as the necessity of prayer and thankfulness... Readers will feel as if they're walking alongside McMullin as she tells her story and advises readers how they, too, can survive setbacks; ..." KIRKUS REVIEW
Readers relate to this book because of either their own learning disabilities, or their children or grandchildren. I like the message of tenacity and not giving up...It is also a message that you can be anything that you want to be if you have the desire... Every pastor or principal would do well to recommend this book and also have T.A. come and speak to their congregation and faculty. Dr. Charles Higgs, Pastor, & Adjunct Professor at Dallas Baptist University
2016-07-12
McMullin recalls a lifetime of hardships and blessings in ranch life and education in her debut memoir, the winner of two North American Book Awards. The author was adopted from a Texas orphanage shortly after her birth. From a young age, her adopted family raised her as a Christian and encouraged her fondness for horses. However, when the family dynamic changed due to financial difficulties and the birth of a new sibling, McMullin says that she was emotionally abandoned by her adopted parents, who didn’t acknowledge her learning disability. In fifth grade, she writes, they briefly sent her into foster care due to her low grades, and they also sold her dog and expressed gladness when her horse died. Meanwhile, she suffered from physical impediments, including an eye ulcer and a debilitating back problem. McMullin’s faith gave her the strength to finish school and maintain a stressful work life. Her loyalty, strong work ethic, and patience endeared her to employers and to a group of friends who offered her stability and love, and she eventually became an educator and author. As her life continued to bring misfortune, including massive injuries from an automobile accident, she still had faith in God and relied on her network of friends. Overall, this memoir is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit in the face of emotional and physical pain. The author consistently notes the need for love and encouragement when dealing with both people and animals as well as the necessity of prayer and thankfulness; it’s almost a rhythmic incantation in the text. Readers will feel as if they’re walking alongside McMullin as she tells her story and advises readers how they, too, can survive setbacks; she couches all the painful experiences she relates, including a hostile confrontation with her adopted father, in lessons. With her memoir, the author effectively opens up a space, into which she invites readers to be a part of the family she longed for as a child. A heartfelt work that takes its time conveying lessons of pain and kindness.