Professional athlete and Paralympian Scout Bassett began her journey to embrace who she is—past and all—by never forgetting where she comes from or who she is. With this guidebook on adversity and life, readers will learn how to make peace with their past, own their identity, and create their own luck.
As an infant in China, Scout was the victim of a fire, causing her to lose her right leg. She spent the next seven years in an orphanage, before being adopted and whisked away to the United States, where she felt foreign in every way. Though she defied the odds and became a gold medalist and world-record holder, Scout fought against adversity her entire life—and mostly off the track. As a disabled person, a minority, and a woman in America, she’s struggled in a culture that can make anyone—no matter who you are—feel like an outsider, an “other.”
In LUCKY GIRL (Worthy Books, September 26, 2023, ISBN: 9781546003861), Scout shares ten lessons she’s learned to help readers overcome some of the most difficult challenges in life today. With vulnerability, humor, and warmth, she addresses issues of identity, loneliness, image, purpose, and high expectations, among others, and offers advice for how to face them. Scout inspires readers to believe that the most important wins in life have nothing to do with medals or records. The biggest win in life is figuring out your why and having the courage to live out the answer.
Scout Bassett started playing sports at a young age as a way to assimilate into American culture. She tried basketball, softball, golf, and tennis before competitively racing in track & field. She is now an American sprinter and long jumper, holding seven national championship titles. In 2016 she represented the United States at the Paralympic Games in Rio, and in 2017 she was a World Championship medalist. In addition to her career as a professional athlete, Scout is an ambassador for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a Women’s Sports Foundation board member, and serves on the Gatorade Women’s Advisory Board. She was a guest star on Project Runway, and has appeared in numerous campaigns for brands like Nike, Citi, Procter & Gamble, Bridgestone Tires, SKIMS, and more.
