The Force Within , livre ebook

Brolga Publishing - Carol Cooke

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103 pages

English

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Description

Carol Cooke thought her destiny was decided when she followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, father and mother and joined the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force.

An exciting career followed until one case got the better of her and she decided to take a year off.

That year off led her down another path and into a world she could never have foreseen for herself. Travelling from one side of the world across to the other and finding love, heartbreak, illness and Paralympic gold.

Through the life challenges Cooke faced, and the lessons learned from her family and her own policing career, she was able to move forward with resilience, integrity and compassion.

The Force Within is the inspiring story of her courageous adventure.

Sujets

Sport

Autour du sport

Histoire du sport

Law Enforcement

Biography

Autobiography

Informations

Publié par	Brolga Publishing
Date de parution	01 juin 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780648697046
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0400€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Published by Brolga Publishing Pty Ltd
ABN 46 063 962 443
PO Box 452
Torquay Victoria 3228
Australia
email: markzocchi@brolgapublishing.com.au
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the publisher.
Copyright © 2021 Carol Cooke
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data
Carol Cooke, author.
ISBN: 9781920785031 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780648697046 (e-book)

Printed in Australia
Cover Photo Credits:
In police uniform image: Cynthia Banks
Cycling image: Arnaud Domange
Medal image: Paralympics Australia
Cover design by WorkingType Studio
Typesetting by Scott Riddle

BE PUBLISHED
Publish through a successful publisher National Distribution to Australia & New Zealand International Distribution to the United Kingdom Ebooks Worldwide Sales Representation to South East Asia
Email: markzocchi@brolgapublishing.com.au
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this book to my grandparents, Hughie, Edna, Anna, Fred and Elizabeth, all of whom were trailblazers in their own right.
To my parents, Donald and Phyllis, thank you for providing me with an amazing family life, growing up, and for instilling in me the ability to be the best that I could be.
To my sister, Cynthia, who has been my best friend and confidant over the years, thank you for being there even when I was your big sister and not so nice to you!
And to my brother, Brian, who I didn’t know until I was about 12 but who taught me that there is no such thing a disability, thank you.
Without all of you in my life, I would not be the person that I am today.
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION PART 1 – THE EARLY YEARS 1. Stepping Into The Unknown 2. Knowledge vs Skill vs Wisdom 3. Courage To Change Your Life 4. Lessons From My Father PART 2 – FAMILY AND CAREER 5. Family Life Lessons 6. Sisters Are Forever 7. Doing Things Differently 8. My Own Learning Begins 9. Life In Uniform 10. Life On The Street 11. Prostitution And Pimps 12. Drug Squad Life 13. Criminal investigations 14. Travel Adventures 15. Unexpected Love 16. The End Of An Era PART 3 – A NEW LIFE BEGINS 17. Unexpected Changes 18. One Life — Live It 19. Chasing Dreams 20. Life As A Rower 21. Cycling Journey 22. Chasing The Ultimate Dream 23. The Road To Rio 24. Adversity Into Advantage CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CAROL’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
INTRODUCTION
This book is about how I transitioned from what I thought would be a life-long career as a police officer to living the life as an elite Paralympic athlete. It is about the lessons I have learned from my family’s 85 years of service on the Toronto Police Force, and my own. It is about building resilience.
I have learned that when one door closes, another one can open. You may have to look for that door and pull it open, but when you are faced with a change or adversity in life, there can be good things waiting for you on the other side. Step through that door, maybe into the unknown, but embrace what can happen on your life road.
My time on the police force and the lessons that I learned from a family dedicated to this job definitely shaped the person I am today as an athlete, a daughter, a sibling, a friend and a wife. They taught me to be resilient and to look for the good in everything, live with change and accept challenges with open arms. They also taught me about love, unconditional love for family and friends — the type of love that will carry you through the good and the bad times.
I would never go back and change any of my experiences. They have taught me a lot about dedication, integrity, perseverance and belief in myself to see what life had in store for me.
The year 2020 was supposed to be exciting and fulfilling: a swansong to the last ten years of hard training and commitment. The Tokyo Paralympics would be my third games, and at the age of 59, I was still shaking my head in amazement as to what I had accomplished over those last ten years. Not that I didn’t think it would happen; I knew my abilities. But at a time when friends my age were looking at retirement, I was still enjoying training and racing against competitors who were, on the whole, a lot younger than me.
At the beginning of January, news out of China was reporting on a new virus that was spreading. To be honest, I don’t think I took much notice. The world had been through a number of things like this in the past, such as SARS and Ebola, and I, along with many others, just figured it was another form of flu and that it too would pass.
On 17 March, as the virus became a pandemic and spread from China to Europe, becoming devastating in Italy, I was involved in a teleconference with athletes from around the world and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on just what was happening with the games. The word was that there was no plan B and the games would be held. Even though Italy was really in trouble, I thought that I could still head to Europe for the racing season. I would just do some races in other parts of Europe and then head to Belgium to meet the rest of the Australian Para-cycling team for the World Championships.
But on that call, there was an athlete from Italy who pleaded with the IPC. They asked how the games could take place in a way that would be fair to everyone, with some countries not having access to training at all. It was then I knew in my heart that the games wouldn’t be going ahead. Weeks later, the IPC informed the world that the games would be postponed to 2021.
At least, we had an answer. Postponed was better than cancelled. My swansong dream was not lost. It was heartbreaking though. As the pandemic spread, the world became more contagious, with thousands dying. At that point, I knew my whole year had been upended. I do believe that life is more important than sport, but when you focus all your energy into a goal and you have timelines in place for an entire year, how do you realign that year?
For someone of my age and background, I was luckier than most. I finished my education. I’ve had careers and I hadn’t put my future on hold. I was doing what I loved, but the younger athletes who had nothing but Tokyo on their minds were lost — athletes who had put university, careers and life on hold to focus on that one goal.
Para-athletes are resilient though; they have been through tough times in life and have made it through the other side. We are a global family that sticks together and helps each other through the good and the bad times, so I knew we would get through this.
We have all faced the unknown in 2020. For me, the uncertainty lied in the Paralympic games and whether they would actually go ahead in 2021. If not, would their postponement take me on an entirely new journey? Of course, there was also the unknown of what the world would be like after this pandemic receded. What would the new normal look like?
Only time will tell, but at least I have the lessons and wisdom learned from years gone by. They have been passed down through the generations from family members who are now a distant memory. Stepping into the unknown was what I was now facing.
I hope that this book will help you face the unknown and take a leap of faith into the future.

‘Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.’
~ MARILYN MONROE
PART 1
The Early Years
CHAPTER 1
Stepping Into The Unknown

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’
~ LAO TZU

My grandfather, Hugh James Mackey Banks, was born in Caithness, Scotland, on 15 January 1907, to parents, Isabella and Hugh Banks. He was one of nine children. In 1921, he emigrated to Canada as a teenager, along with his parents, with high hopes of a new life in a faraway land. After arriving and seeing what this new world had to offer, he decided, even at that young age, that when he could, he would join the Third Brigade Field Artillery (Militia). He had always had a love of horses from an early age, and upon arriving in Canada, he took it upon himself to take riding lessons in the University Armouries. He loved these lessons, and his skill and grace on a horse made him a natural rider. Once he felt he was proficient on the back of a horse, he, in fact, did join the Militia.
With more training upon joining the Militia and upon graduating as a skilful horseman, he was sent to the R.C.H.A. riding establishment at Kingston, Ontario, where he graduated as a rough-riding corporal. He joined one of Canada’s crack cavalry regiments, the Royal Canadian Dragoons (Permanent Force), serving there until 1929 when he joined the Toronto City Police as Police Constable #631, where he served 33 years.
Grandad’s love of horses saw him join the Mounted Unit, and he loved patrolling the city of Toronto on horseback. During his time policing, he came to know the local community where he was working, and they came to know him as the young good-looking officer from Scotland.
On 31 December 1929, the local community was having a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Canadian Legion Hall. Hughie, as he was affectionately known, dressed in his finest brown pinstriped suit, a crisp, freshly starched white shirt, with his tie neatly tucked in his vest and his hat on his head, was heading to the celebrations. He put his warm overcoat on and braved the cold winds of the winter night as he walked toward the hall. He had no idea that this night was going to be a changing point in his life.
As he entered the hall, celebrations were well under way, and he headed to the coat check to drop off his hat and overcoat. Waiting in line, he noticed that the coat check was being manned by a beautiful young woman, strikingly tall, with dark brown hair and the face of an angel. With his coat and hat in his hand as he approached the counter, he found himself lost for words, which was something new to