Beyond the Red Door [Paperback]

Janet Shaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2005

The remarkable life of Janet Shaw, a disabled competitive cyclist, is detailed in this inspirational autobiography. Adopted as a baby and diagnosed with a malignant eye disease shortly thereafter, Janet has struggled to live an ordinary life. In this book, she relates her childhood challenges at the school for the blind, her recent efforts to find her birth parents, her triumphant successes in the cycling world, and the revelation that her birth father is prominent Australian television personality Terry Willesee.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Book Review: Beyond the Red Door, by Janet Shaw Reviewed by Sally Murphy An inspirational true story. BLIND SCHOOL. Red door....Why I had been placed at such a school became even more of a puzzle as the strict rules of the prison-style institution closed in on me like the slamming of a cell door. Rules that made no sense. They would try to change me, to make me someone I clearly wasn't. But as each rule was laid down, the spark inside me grew even brighter. Janet Shaw was not born blind. Adopted at brith, it was not until she was thirteen months old that she was diagnosed with a inherited condition - a malignant cancer called retinoblastoma. She had one eye removed and the other was damaged by the radiotherapy which saved her life against the odds. After that she endured a lifetime of operations and limited vision, but never considered herself as either blind nor less able. It was not until she was thirty-three years old that she lost all vision and made the difficult decision to have her remaining eye removed. Beyond the Red Door is Janet Shaw's inspiring story. Despite the difficulties of living with limited vision and with ongoing pain in her 'good' eye, she refused to be limited in what she could achieve. She travelled, had a career and, in her thirties, became a champion disabled cyclist. The book also reveals her struggle for identity and to form a relationship with her birth parents. With a strong and stable family life with her adoptive family, it was not until she was grown that Shaw made the decision to try to find her birth parents. When she did finally meet her birth mother, she had to face a painful rejection. Meeting her birth father, however, was more rewarding, although it took several years for their relationship to develop. Shaw's birth father is a high-profile media personality (whose name is revealed in the book) who did not know of her existence until she made contact. The pair had to work through difficult circumstances to forge a relationship. Janet Shaw's story is intensely personal and honest. It has incredible lows but also great highs. It is the story of an extraordinary person striving to be the best she can be. No one who reads this book will doubt that she has succeeded. Janet Shaw will be competing in the Athens 2004 Paralympics. Her fighting spirit is sure to stand her in good stead for this challenge. --Aussie Reviews --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Janet Shaw is a disabled cyclist who won four medals at the 2002 World Disabled Cycling Championship and competed in the Athens 2004 Paralympics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (May 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741143195
• ISBN-13: 978-1741143195
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,737,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, November 20, 2007

By 

Iris (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Red Door (Paperback)

This is an excellent book....To me, loss of vision would be the worst disability to suffer.

Janet lost one eye as a baby due to cancer, and was told she would lose vision in the other eye in the near future. She was put into a blind school (which had a red door) when she was a child, and didn't understand why she was there. She was 33 when she finally lost her other eye - it had finally succumbed to the aggressive radiation that she was given as a child.

Janet was also adopted as a baby, and wanted to find her natural parents to see if the retinoblastoma was hereditary. When she was 18, she met her mother, who said she didn't want anything to do with her. Her father is a high-profile media personality in Australia. He finally accepted Janet as his daughter, and they now keep in regular contact.

This book is about Janet's journey through her childhood, and into adulthood with a vision disability. Worthwhile reading.