Labels

absolute awesomeness addiction Adversity An Uncommon Whore angels animal rescue animal welfare Anne Kane anxiety aquamarine author corner bad angels bad weather Barbara Elsborg BDSM bdsm romance belinda mcbride BelindaPalooza Belindapendence Belle Starr beverages bisexual bisexual romance Black Planet Blacque/Bleu blog hop Broken Cancer CAPA changeling press characters cherise sinclair China chronic pain Coming Out contests cooking courage craft creativity culinary competion custom art cyber punk Dark Haven deadlines Deeply blog demons depression dog shows dogs Doms of Dark Haven Dos Lunas Dragon's Blood drawings druids election embarrassment EPIC Winner erotic romance erotica expressive writing faith family fantasy fear femme domme fiction Film fire firefighters France free reads full moon futuristic genre hopping ghosts goldenwolfen grand prize greco-roman culture halloween happiness haunted mansions head/desk health heroines hide my head in shame Hong Kong human trafficking Iditarod Inspirational jessica freely Jessica Freely jianne carlo Kate Roman KC Burn Lance Mackey las vegas Last Call Europe lena austin lex valentine LGBT lifestyle linda suzane Lisabet Sarai little Dragon Little Dragon Little Foxes loose Id lost pets love scenes lucky in red lynn lorenz m/m m/m romance Madly martial arts martini mary winter meditation menage romance menege mental illness My Birthday mythology NaNoWriMo New Concepts Publishing new release New Year's Giveaway News nutrition overcoming pack politics paranormal paranormal romance Paris Passion in Print passionate plume pearls personal pet peeves PETA PL Nunn positivity procrastination Rainbow book awards real life release dates Review Risk romance save the quiet kitty science fiction Sele selena illyria shape shifters Sheri Lewis Wohl shunga siberian husky sidhe sierra cartwright slavery smoke snow snowfire: chrysalis space opera speculative fiction St John and St Thomas stupid mistakes succubus survival Suzanne Rock Tara Lain terrorism The Next Big Thing The Romance Reviews Tiger Eyes time off TMI Tony Leung travel Truckee Wolves Truly urban fantasy valentine's day vampires vampiropolis weight weight loss well being werewolves When I Fall wicca wildlife witches wolves World building world events writer's block writer's health writers block writing writing habits yacht

Saturday, October 24, 2015

So Let's Talk Inspirational--The Great Alone Review

(Oh no, not another Lance Mackey post...)



There's been a lot of discussion about what makes a book or movie or song "Inspirational." To me, it has little to do with religion, but more with the uplifting nature of the work. I recently saw the award winning film The Great Alone, which is about the life of musher Lance Mackey. It's billed as a sports documentary, but is so, so much more.

This movie totally hits the mark for defining Inspirational. Lance was born to a legendary racing family in Alaska. After his parents split, he became mired in substance abuse by the age of nine. That's right...nine. He pulled himself from that hole, straightened out his life and decided to follow the family tradition of sled racing and eventually entered the Iditarod.

And then the cancer came.

The story of his life is inspirational. Lance entered the race again, while he was still being treated for throat cancer. He scratched when the contents of  his feeding tube kept freezing. Yes, he ran 500 miles of a thousand mile race while on a feeding tube.

Eventually, he went on to win the Iditarod. Then he won it again. And again. And again.
He also won the Yukon Quest 4 times, garnering awards for the excellent care of his animals and for having the most valuable team on the trail. He was given the title of "World's Toughest Athlete." Its unlikely that some of his accomplishments will ever be repeated.

He's battered, scarred and torn apart from the cancer and the subsequent treatment. He lost his salivary glands and eventually his teeth. His voice is gravelly. The bones in his jaw eroded. He had a finger amputated because of unrelenting nerve pain. His eyes are often reddened from the medical marijuana he uses to ease his pain. He can't use that when he races. But he still races.

He can't raise his arm over his head, because it might put enough stress on his jugular to tear the artery.

He has Reynaud's Syndrome, which causes his extremities to lose circulation and freeze easily.

And he's never given up. Never quit. When someone tells him he can't do something, Lance says, "Watch. This."
In all the years he's run those major races, he's never had a major corporate sponsor. He's funded by small businesses, friends and fans.

And the driving force in his life is the well being of his dogs. You wonder why I idolize this guy?
There's a reason that "Superman Wears Lance Mackey Pajamas."

This movie is what inspirational storytelling is all about. There's no mention of God or religion in this film, just a man, a second chance and a love of nature, mushing and his dogs. This is a man who's faced impossible challenges again and again, and prevailed. Lance is perfectly imperfect. He screws up, falls down and gets back on his feet. He knows the meaning of his life. How many of us can say the same?

The Great Alone is a tour de force directed by Greg Kohs. It's shot in a remote, hostile environment. The cinematography is exquisite. The soundtrack is gripping and ethereal. The story-telling is seamless. This is a story about a man, a race, his family and his dogs. In Lance's words: Watch this. 

The Great Alone is currently on the festival circuit, and will go into general release in 2016. See their  Facebook Page for screenings and guest appearances by Lance, his dog Amp and various guests. 


Official Trailer: The Great Alone