Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah's inspiring true story, which was turned into a film, Emmanuel's Gift, is an inspiring one.

Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, Emmanuel faced social exclusion by his people. In Ghana, the cultural perception of a child born with a birth deformity is often considered a result of being cursed or the result of the sins of the parents. Many children like Emmanuel are called Spirit Children. They’re disabled children believed to possess magic that causes misfortune. In some extreme cases, spirit children are exorcised or even killed.

Due to his deformity, Emmanuel was dismissed by most people, but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams no matter how others treated him. As a boy, Emmanuel made every effort to live a normal life in spite of his disability. He hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. In 2001, he rode four hundred miles across Ghana! That’s the same distance as a 5-6 hour road trip if you were traveling in a car at 70 mph or about 113 km per hour.

This feat spread his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled. 

Thompson's prose and Qualls's collage illustrations offer a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity.

We hope you pick up Emmanuel’s incredible story to read for yourselves. We look forward to discussing it with you during your next visit to the store!