Locked In

By: Victoria Arlen, Valentin Chmerkovskiy - foreword

Narrated by: Victoria Arlen

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

ESPN personality and Paralympics champion Victoria Arlen shares her courageous and miraculous story of recovery after falling into a mysterious vegetative state at age 11 and how she broke free, overcoming the odds and never giving up hope, eventually living a full and inspiring life.

When Victoria Arlen was 11 years old, she contracted two rare diseases simultaneously and fell into a mysterious vegetative state. For two years her mind was dark, but in the third year, her mind broke free, and she was able to think clearly and to hear and feel everything - but no one knew.

When she was 15 years old, against all odds and medical predictions, she was finally able to communicate through eye blinks, and she gradually regained her ability to speak and eat and move her upper body, but she faced the devastating reality of paralysis from the waist down because of damage to her spine. However, Victoria didn’t lose her strength or steadfast determination, and two years later, she won a gold medal for swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics.

In Locked In, Victoria shares her never-before-published story - the pain, the struggle, the fight to live and thrive, and most importantly, the faith that carried her through. Her journey was not easy, but by believing in God’s healing power and forgiveness, she is living proof that, despite seemingly insurmountable odds and challenges, the will to survive and resolve to live can be a force stronger than our worst deterrents.

Not many people get a second chance at life like Victoria has, and she made a promise to God that she would make every moment count.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2018 Victoria Arlen (P)2018 Simon & Schuster Audio

Inspiring young woman

love this as an audiobook. It’s like Victoria is talking just to me, telling me her story. My husband saw her speak at a National conference in Nashville recently while I slept in. I could tell I missed something big. All these big guys who were excited to hear Payton Manning talk said Victoria stole the show and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, with an audience of 10,000. I was so glad I could hear her whole story for myself.

Equipped

This book will help equip you to handle the crisis when life hits hard. Great book.

Locked In leaves me motivated for life!

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Victoria was amazing to listen to and truly "hear" her story!

Miraculous story

Enjoyed the story of Victoria. Her life is miraculous. Such a blessing about her recovery and life success. Her work with Project Walk has led to numerous individuals regaining strength and independence. Thank you.

Raw, Honest & Necessary

Victoria Arlens’s raw and honest account of her journey exposes the atrocities of the doctors and medical professionals in power at a major hospital, who lacked professionalism and kindness in their interactions with children. This is a necessary read for any parent with a sick child who is battling to find answers. More importantly, it is a necessary read for young men and women, walking or rolling down a similar path, to know that there are countless angles who will fight alongside them, who will encourage them to keep their head held high and to never give up the fight.

Wow! Powerful

I heard Victoria on a podcast and wanted to hear more about her life journey. She has had a journey that will bring tears to your eyes and a God-given recovery that is astonishing. Victoria is inspiring and has a more profound message of how important family is and God’s love for her.

Great testimony of her life!

I loved the book! Ver inspirational. The only thing I didn’t care for was her calling her mother mommy.

Amazing story

Victoria’s story is amazing and inspirational. I almost cried at several points throughout this book. Victoria isn’t a professional author, so this doesn’t read as smoothly as a well polished novel (as other reviewers have pointed out). But I’d rather sacrifice that to hear the story on her own words and from her own voice. I highly recommend this book!

Wonderful

This book was great! Motivating and captivating. The narration was really good and I couldn’t stop listening to it

Amazing

Such an incredible true story filled with love, hope, and pain. I found Victoria’s words inspiring and filled with strength and love.