Better Together: A Memoir of Persistence, Inclusion, and a Family’s Power to Overcome

by Shaun Evans

When parents Nichole and Shaun Evans are told that their one-year-old son, Shamus, has cerebral palsy, the growing family does not let it limit them. They do whatever it takes to help Shamus participate in anything he wants to try. One of those things is a passion for running. As soon as he is able to safely sit in a jogging stroller, Shamus rolls with his dad as Shaun trains with Olympic dreams in his heart.

A series of injuries and surgeries provide setbacks to Shaun’s athletic career, but then Shamus presents the family with a dream that would inspire them all: a run across America! His goal is to roll from coast to coast in his running chair while promoting inclusion by giving such chairs to kids along the way. The Evans family joins up with the not-for-profit organization Ainsley’s Angels of America to make Shamus’s big dream a reality.

Better Together describes the family’s 3,205 mile journey across the continental United States, including moments of hardships, happiness, and surprises. Shaun finds both his motivation and his stride in knowing that stiff, sore, and cramped legs are a daily occurrence for his son.

With Nichole and Simon’s steadfast support as pit crew, the hospitality of Americans en route, and Shamus’s optimism along the way, the family proves anything is possible and accomplishments are so much better when they are achieved together!

ISBN: 978-1-64543-079-7