Best film of the week: Surfing with Bethany Hamilton

I didn’t read much this week, but on a flight from Detroit to Minneapolis, I watched Unstoppable, a documentary about pro surfer Bethany Hamilton.

Framed by her 2016 attempt to surf Jaws, a notorious surf spot in Hawaii, the film tells the story of a talented young woman who doesn’t let an injury (a tiger shark took off her arm when she was 13) keep her from pursuing her passion. Instead, she adapts. Keeps her eyes on her own mat and makes her body work for her.

I admire Bethany’s self-acceptance and single-minded pursuit of her gift. I also admire her spiritual perspective. “God gave me this passion to surf,” she says. “It wasn’t like that passion had been taken, too.”