Cycle of Hope

Tricia Downing’s memoir, Cycle of Hope: My Journey from Paralysis to Possibility (2010), received widespread praise from both the sports and general communities. The book is Downing’s account of how a devastating cycling accident changed her life, and how she hopes to inspire others to find a way to succeed after injury. Downing is the founder of The Cycle of Hope, a non-profit organization for female wheelchair users. She is the first female paraplegic to finish an Iron distance triathlon. Before her paralysis, she represented the U.S. at all levels of international competition in five different disciplines.

Cycle of Hope begins with Downing’s account of what happened on September 17, 2000, when she became paralyzed from the chest down. Before this day, Downing, in the best shape of her professional sports career, had just completed an eighteen-race national tour over twenty-three days. While Downing talks about her pre-injury sports career, the book mainly centers on the aftermath of the accident and how she found the strength to keep going.

Although the content is serious in nature, Downing approaches it with humor and raw emotion. For example, when she is hospitalized because of her injury, the two men she has been seeing casually turn up to visit her, and awkwardness ensues. While Downing’s injury isn’t something that we can all relate to, awkward moments and relationships are.



Downing is honest about how she felt about her injury at the time, and how she still feels about it. She doesn’t say that she’s happy the way she was before the accident. Instead, she admits that she will never feel the same about herself and life as she did before, and she will never completely accept that she can’t walk again. Although she has come to terms with her disability, she is honest about how it affected her physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The recovery process that Downing endures is anything but straightforward, given the severity of her injuries. She must lie on her back for weeks on end, developing bedsores and muscle degeneration through inactivity. The whole time, she contemplates what her life was like before the accident, and the careless driver who stole that life away from her. She includes the letter to the driver that she wrote later; it’s honest and raw.

What gets Downing through the first few months in the rehabilitation hospital is the people around her. She is recovering beside others who have suffered similar injuries, and together, they keep each other strong and motivated. They learn the basics of living again, from moving in and out of wheelchairs to getting around. They also learn the skills they will need to be independent when they go back home. Right now, riding a bike again, or participating in any sport, is far from Downing’s mind.



Downing attributes her entry back into sport to the friends around her. Other cyclists whom she is close to won’t let her give up on what she loves. Thanks to them, she finds her way back into cycling and sport more generally. She finds a recreational therapist who can teach her new ways of doing all the fun things she used to do. Although Downing is skeptical at first, she thanks her friends every day for making her keep going. Cycle of Hope is a story of perseverance, hope, and the power of friendship, as much as it is a memoir.

There is nothing easy about learning the new bike she will ride. Between building her muscles again, and developing her coordination on a new machine, it takes a long time before Downing feels she is making progress. She must relearn skills she once took for granted, and she doesn’t always feel good about it. Most of the time, she feels that she will always be defined by her injuries.

While Downing never gets over her belief that paraplegia defines her, she channels it into something powerful and rewarding for both her and other people. She decides she wants to help others in similar situations, especially females because she feels they are under-supported. She applies for a grant, which she wins, and she starts her own non-profit organization.



Again, starting a non-profit is no easy process. Downing quickly acknowledges that the grant money won’t be enough. However, she feels that she has found her calling, and she won’t give up. Although she needed support to motivate her after her accident, she finds the strength all on her own for the nonprofit. She believes in herself and what she is capable of again.

Downing reflects on her accident and what it taught her about friendship, family, determination, and how far one will go for what one loves. There is a message in Cycle of Hope about believing that we are the ones who define ourselves. Although Downing’s life changed forever, it is up to her what she makes of it. She hopes that her honest account will encourage others in similar situations to find a way to be themselves again.