BOOK REVIEWS
From Para To dakar
Joey Evans
2017
ISBN 978 0 620 75751 5
R
Inspirational! A word used perhaps a little too often yet, when
mentioning it relation to Joey Evans it’s a word that describes the
South African enduro racer perfectly.
Joey was a racer of note, then in 2007, in nothing more than
a similar accident to what many of us have had riding on dirt,
everything changed. Joey was paralysed from the chest down;
doctors gave him less than a 10% chance of ever walking again …
then meet the Joey Evans that is inspirational. This is From Para
To Dakar.
We’re taken through what it means to hear those words, yet
Joey refuses to dwell on the fact and the reader is taken to an-
other level as Joey and his family prepare to take the next steps
(sorry, pun not intended).
With the announcement that Joey will take on the toughest of
all motorcycle races, the Dakar, we learn what it means to have
courage, determination and perhaps just a little more of that
mean mongrel dog spirit that it takes to finish a Dakar.
Joey takes us through it all; his recovery, his first attempts at
riding, the first races after the accident and then the Dakar itself.
We, the reader, is taken through a race to race account of the
comeback, all told from Joey’s perspective with the occasional
interjection from his wife Meredith, a touch that works beautiful-
ly in bridging gaps.
When it comes to the big race itself (the 2017 edition) From
Para To Dakar is one of the best accounts of the event you’ll read.
Joey’s telling of his story has the reader immersed in the day to
day grind, the danger, the comradery and the excitement.
It doesn’t matter whether Joey finished the Dakar, the very fact
that he proved the experts and nay-sayers wrong is a testament to
his inspirational determination and
a testament to the love and support
of family and friends.
Is From Para To Dakar one of
the best motorsport biographies
around? Probably not, but it is
certainly one of the best adventure
biographies written, proof that ad-
venture starts at home and starts by
taking the very first step (no apology,
the pun is intended). From Para To
Dakar is an epic journey and one
that anyone who has feared adversi-
ty should read.
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