Tom Deierlein is a soldier who was shot in the pelvis on tour in Iraq. Although his doctors said he may never walk again, he dedicated himself to physical therapy, managed to walk, and then even ran a 10-mile race. He explained that he would never give up because persevering against challenges is part of his identity as a soldier. Duckworth uses Deierlein’s remarkable recovery as an example of how people can succeed by making grit part of their identity.
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Tom Deierlein Character Timeline in Grit
The timeline below shows where the character Tom Deierlein appears in Grit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 12: A Culture of Grit
For instance, after the soldier Tom Deierlein got shot in the pelvis in Iraq, he insisted on going above and beyond in...
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