p>While many people around the world watched the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, twelve-year-old Katie Hillson harbored Olympic dreams, dreams that had been growing since she was a young girl. But Katie's aspirations were shattered when she suffered a sudden, life-changing skiing injury the same day she qualified for the Junior Olympic Festival. In "Katie and Me," Taji Warren Hillson tells the family's story as Katie is challenged to go through the same mourning process as death, as well as learning to live with and accommodate a disability. Taji narrates how mother and daughter confronted the psychological and emotional struggles in the aftermath of the crash and subsequent surgeries. Intertwined is a secondary tale of friendship, bonding, and abandonment that contains the healing aspects of forgiveness and transformational power of unconditional love.
With excerpts and artwork by Katie and testimonials from those who knew her, "Katie and Me" addresses topics that pushed the pair into the unsaid and unknown parts of themselves to educate and inspire others facing adversity.