Chris Norton – Author of “The Seven Longest Yards”
Welcome to another PUSHliving Podcast. We are excited to welcome Chris Norton and his wife beautiful wife Emily. Chris is a well known Keynote Speaker and author, a loving husband and caring father.
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Before the interview, we wanted to ask our audience a question…
What is inspirational to you? What do you find inspirational in your life?
Well, that all depends on who you ask, right? If you are a person who struggles with a disability or knows a person who struggles with a disability, you may not find that disability very inspirational on its surface. You may find it inspirational if they go to Law School or, they launch a very successful business, but just the act of surviving a disability may not be something that you find inspirational.
So, when you ask someone what they find inspirational, it all depends on their personal experience with disability and maybe even their experience with others with disabilities. For example, if you are married to a quadriplegic, you may just see the struggles they face to be a part of their everyday life, and nothing overwhelmingly inspirational.
So, when we were approached by Chris’s team about his new book, “The Seven Longest Yards” it was not hard to imagine right away what this book was about. We knew it was going to be an inspirational book meant to inspire others. In many cases, it is meant to inspire those who have NOT personally overcome a devastating injury. “The Seven Longest Yards” – published by Harper Collins is due to be released July 9th.
For those who may not know, Chris Norton is a former American football defensive back who played Division III football for the Luther College Norse. His football career ended in 2010 when he became paralyzed while making a tackle during the kick off in a game against Central College.
Chris, alongside his wife Emily who is just as equally inspiring adopted 5 children. 5 beautiful daughters who range in age from 2 – 19 years old. Their oldest daughter Whitley, who is now 19 was mentored by Emily. Chris and Emily wanted to adopt Whitley even though she had already “aged out” of the Foster Care system, to show her she would ALWAYS have a family.
Here is just a glimpse of what we will talk about on our Podcast today.
- How Chris became part of the “disability community”
- “Life Hacks” what adaptations Chris uses to assist him through everyday life.
- What inspired him to become a Speaker
- How Chris and Emily met and how they decided to foster children and adopt.
- How he currently supports life & work
- Relationship advise and how to overcome setbacks
Links to resources mentioned throughout the show.
Video on “Inspiration Porn” by Stella Young
Chris Norton Instagram
Emily Summers Norton Instagram
Chris Norton Story – Official Trailer
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