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Running on Broken Legs: My Journey to Joy
When God calls someone to a task, he’ll equip them—no matter how impossible it seems. Elinor Young knows. At five years old, Elinor contracts polio. Though the disease doesn’t take her life, she is left weak and physically disabled. Just a few years later, when a guest speaker at church asks if anyone feels called to be a missionary, Elinor grabs her crutches and hobbles down the aisle. She knows God will be faithful despite her weaknesses. Running on Broken Legs is Elinor’s story of how God’s still, small voice brings a girl across the ocean to a people whose language she does not know but whom she grows to love. It’s a vibrant reminder that it is not through overcoming our weaknesses that we are more useful to God—rather, we become useful when we recognize our weaknesses as an ongoing call to dependency on his grace and the work of his Spirit in us and through us.
Price range: $6.99 through $22.99
Product Description
She was five years old, partially paralyzed, and given little chance of a normal life. Decades later, she was deep in the jungle highlands of Papua, Indonesia, living among a tribal people few outsiders had ever encountered, in one of the most remote places on the planet.
Running on Broken Legs is the true story of Elinor Young, a polio survivor who refused to accept the limits everyone else saw for her. Braces, crutches, and a body that had already been to the edge of death did not stop her from answering a call that took her to the Eastern Highlands of Papua, Indonesia, where she would spend nearly eighteen years alongside the Kimyal people, learning their language, surviving a devastating earthquake, navigating tribal conflict, and building a life that few people anywhere in the world have ever lived. The Kimyal gave her a name: Bad Legs. To them, it was not an insult. It was the truth of what they saw in her, a woman whose weakness became something they could not explain any other way.
This is not a book about suffering. It is a book about what a human being can do when they decide not to stop. Raw, specific, and deeply honest, Running on Broken Legs reads like an adventure story because it is one, set against a world of highland jungle, tribal ceremony, and landscapes most readers will never see anywhere else.
With 93 reviews averaging 4.7 stars, readers consistently describe this book as impossible to put down. For fans of Educated, Wild, and The Glass Castle, and for anyone who has ever been told their dream was impossible.
About the Author
Enid Sanford (verified owner) –
Elinor Young is a girl with grit and a great God. Her book will keep your attention all the way through as she describes what it was like to live in a stone-age people group in Irian Jaya in order to tell them of the love of God. I’ve known and admired Elinor for many year and even more now, after reading her fascinating book.
David Abuhl (verified owner) –
When I got Elinor’s book “Running On Broken Legs” I could hardly put it down. I was deeply blessed by her inspiring and easy to read stories. Such personal, moving and Spirit anointed stories of her life of missionary service, proving that when God calls us, He gives us His grace and strength to follow His will! I have known Elinor for many years and I highly recommend her Story to anyone wanting to be overwhelmingly blessed. Thank you God for this remarkable woman!
Linda Smiley (verified owner) –
Running on broken legs is definitely a 5 star read. I couldn’t put the book down. Elinor is such an inspiring story teller. Being disabled with polio as a young child she fascinates you with her perseverance and quick thinking on how to survive and thrive. She takes you to a remote people in Ivian Jaya Indonesia who were steeped in barbaric traditions and ignorance. However you learn to love and admire them as Elinor brings much needed medical and spiritual education their way. The story weaves in and out of nail biting experiences to soul searching, calm and beautiful sights. This is a great read for anyone with a sense of adventure and a love for the reality of human nature.
Sandy Honn-Ruediger (verified owner) –
This is a wonderful, heartwarming book which I could hardly put down, and I highly recommend it! Elinor is a family friend, who had Polio 2 years before my dad did. She is a blessing and continues to be an inspiration to many, including myself. Read the book. It is amazing!
Sharon McCarty –
I enjoyed reading this book so much, I could hardly put it down. It tells of her experiences as a child with polio, as a young student and then as a missionary. It shows that God has a plan for everyone’s life, even though we don’t always see it at the time. She writes with vivid detail— it makes it seems like you are there (everywhere) with her. I hope I can meet her someday.