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56 pages 1 hour read

Bethany Hamilton

Soul Surfer

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2004

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Important Quotes

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“I don’t pretend to have all the answers to why bad things happen to good people. But I do know that God knows all those answers [...].”


(Preface, Page xvi)

This passage, from the Preface, establishes the central question of the theological concept of theodicy: Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? In Hamilton’s view, even people of faith are not privy to the reasons things happen but are instead supposed to trust that God has a plan and purpose for each of us and that accidents and challenges are part of that plan.

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“I want to use what happened to me as an opportunity to tell people that God is worthy of our trust, and to show them that you can go on and do wonderful things in spite of terrible events that happen.” 


(Preface, Page xvi)

Hamilton’s understanding of her accident is that it is part of a larger plan for her life and that God wants her to be an example of hope to people who also need to overcome terrible, life-altering events and significant challenges. This quote summarizes that belief and invites the reader to understand the point of the book even before the story of the shark attack is told.

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“This island has some of the best waves in the world but my friends and I still get skunked sometimes. There is nothing you can do about it; just go home and do something else.” 


(Chapter 1, Page 13)

Resilience is a lesson that Hamilton learned very early in her life from her parents and brothers. Resilience is also a critical component of Hamilton’s surfing success, as it allows her to accept that some days she will not be able to surf her best—that nature, or other surfers, will win—and that she must dust herself off and come back and surf again.

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“I always wondered how my dad knew he was born to be a surfer. When I ask him, he says it was more like destiny took him by the hand and led him to the waves.” 


(Chapter 2, Page 21)

Hamilton believes in fate and destiny and interprets instances of chance as moments in which God’s plan is unfolding. This quote signals Hamilton’s belief that people are called to certain activities and pursuits because of the destiny God has laid out for them, which gives their pursuits meaning and purpose.

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“Shuffling through some small town at two in the morning, miles from his final location, he would occasionally creep into a local church and sleep on the pews, wrapping himself with the preacher’s robe when he got cold.”


(Chapter 2, Page 30)

Hamilton is describing her father’s life when he relocated to Hawaii, drawn purely by his love of surfing. Beyond emphasizing her father’s willingness to leave comfort behind in pursuit of his passion, this passage also illustrates how Hamilton views faith in God: as a place of respite, where your needs are met and you are protected.

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“One thing I learned about team sports: no one job us more important than the others. You all have to work together.”


(Chapter 3, Page 39)

While Hamilton is describing team athletics, she could also be describing her understanding of community and the importance of supporting one another through both wins and losses. This passage also indicates Hamilton’s view of herself—that despite her success as a surfer, and later status as a celebrity, Hamilton sees herself as nothing special, but rather simply one member of a team, with equal standing in the community. This is a lesson Hamilton’s parents instilled in her.

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“He has also taught me the importance of learning from my mistakes. I make sure to break any bad habits before they begin.”


(Chapter 3, Page 45)

Hamilton is describing the approach to athletics instilled by her father, and she is foreshadowing the lesson she will call upon to recover from the shark attack. While the shark attack was an accident rather than a mistake, Hamilton will quickly understand that feeling sorry for herself is a bad habit, and she will work to overcome self-pity so that she can move on and succeed and be a role model to others.

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“And in most ways I am just your typical teenage girl.”


(Chapter 4, Page 64)

Hamilton goes to great lengths to establish common ground with her readers throughout the book. She employs various tools to do this, like including a glossary of surf terms that invites the reader into the world of surfing. In this brief sentence, Hamilton is reiterating that while her story may seem unique, she shares universal concerns with her readers, and thus, the lessons her story contains can apply to all of her readers, no matter their circumstances.

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“Funny how when you’re scared, no matter how grown up you think you are, you do want your mommy to comfort you.”


(Chapter 5, Page 76)

Here again, Hamilton is reiterating the point that, while her story may seem hugely different than other teenagers’, she is just like everyone else. These reminders, of Hamilton’s age and teenage concerns, help the book resonate with Hamilton’s reading audience and reflect her concern that her story be seen as having messages that apply to all readers’ lives.

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“I put on a brave face for everyone, but I can’t pretend it didn’t get to me at times. [...] ‘Why did God choose me and what does He have in mind for me?’”


(Chapter 8, Page 106)

One of the challenges Hamilton has after her accident is in making sense of what happened to her so that she can avoid spiraling into self-pity and depression. Hamilton does this by viewing the shark attack as one event in a much larger plan for her life. She sees the attack as part of God’s plan and searches for the purpose behind the accident that cost Hamilton her arm.

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“I think I may be able to do more good having one arm than when I had two. And it took Kai, a blind man, to open my eyes.” 


(Chapter 8, Page 116)

Hamilton is describing her meeting with a blind psychologist a few days after the shark attack. The psychologist has accepted that he has lost his sight and has found his purpose in helping others accept their losses as well. Hamilton is deeply affected by this meeting, which is an important step in her recovery.

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“There are other times, however, when nature is on your side. The waves, the conditions, and the dance all come together in an experience that penetrates you so deeply [...].” 


(Chapter 9, Page 121)

The sea here represents the unknown future. As Hamilton explains, surfing involves acceptance of this unknown, and acceptance that some days, everything will work against you, and on other days, everything will work in your favor. The point, Hamilton makes clear, is that it is necessary to trust God on both good days and bad.

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“To constantly dwell on what might happen would totally suck the joy out of the sport.”


(Chapter 9, Page 123)

This passage is a reiteration of Hamilton’s point about acceptance. To be a surfer, she asserts, requires balancing sensible precautions with a willingness to accept risk. This is also Hamilton’s approach to life after her accident, when she makes peace with what happened to her by accepting the shark attack without blaming anyone—including herself, God, or the shark—for what occurred.

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“Nobody made me believe [in God]; I don’t think you can or should try to force someone to believe something.”


(Chapter 10, Page 133)

As Hamilton explains the growth of her Christian faith throughout her life, she reminds the reader that it is a belief she came to on her own. Her parents introduced her to the Christian faith, but she chose to nurture and deepen that faith on her own. This is an important point for Hamilton’s story because it signals to readers that they, too, can become believers and deepen their own faith in God.

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“Being tight with God is even more important to me than surfing.”


(Chapter 10, Page 134)

This statement asserts Hamilton’s central theme: While surfing is her passion and the backdrop to her story, the essence of her life—and the book—is her deep and abiding faith in God. To make this point, she reminds the reader that in her personal hierarchy, God sits at the very top.

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“It helps to know that even when you don’t have a clue why something has happened in your life, someone up there has a master plan and is watching over you. It’s a tremendous relief to be able to put your trust in God and take the burden off your shoulders.”


(Chapter 10, Page 135)

Hamilton is again reiterating the point of sharing her story by reminding the reader that it is not necessary to make sense of everything that happens to you. What is necessary is to accept that the events of your life will eventually make sense because they are part of God’s plan.

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“I’m living proof that there’s no such thing as a handicap—it’s only in your head.”


(Chapter 11, Page 138)

As Hamilton moves on from the shark attack, she engages in mission work with people living with disabilities or in poverty. She sees her value in being an example to those people, who see Hamilton as someone who overcame a devastating injury and rediscovered her passion and her purpose in life.

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“Instead, we show people our faith through our actions.”


(Chapter 11, Page 139)

Hamilton is relating her experience on mission trips, where limited knowledge of Spanish keeps her from talking about God. While some may see this lack of language as a handicap, Hamilton views it as an opportunity to put her beliefs into action. This is the same way Hamilton responds to her injury, and the same way the community responds to Hamilton’s accident—by putting their Christian beliefs into concrete actions that help others.

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“For those who make Hawaii their home, aloha means much more than a hello and goodbye greeting.”


(Chapter 11, Page 145)

By explaining the word aloha, which is perhaps the concept most closely associated with Hamilton’s home state, Hamilton is introducing the concept of community that exists in Hawaii. This concept, in which people share in the good and bad that happens in each community member’s life, closely parallels the biblical concept of community.

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“Well, here I come, determined to get back the life that the shark tried to take from me. No woe—just go, go, go!”


(Chapter 11, Page 152)

This passage encapsulates how Hamilton understands her role after the shark attack. She sees herself as an example of a person who, through faith in God, overcame a huge obstacle without feeling sorry for herself. This is Hamilton’s motivation to share her story and allow herself to be written about and interviewed in the press.

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“Most of all, I want to use my story as a way to tell people about God’s story.” 


(Chapter 12, Page 160)

Just as she had to find the point of the shark attack, Hamilton searches for the point of the celebrity status that resulted from the attack. She finds that purpose in sharing her faith. That purpose comforts Hamilton on the days when her celebrity is a drain on her time and energy, and she persists in pursuing opportunities to share the story of the attack and recovery because she believes that it is what God intends for her to do.

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“I can’t turn away from someone in need. Not when just a little kindness can go so far.” 


(Chapter 12, Page 166)

In her post-attack life, Hamilton finds hundreds of opportunities to share her faith on a large platform—giving interviews on television and to magazines, for instance—but she also finds purpose in reaching out directly to individuals who are facing loss and hardship. In this instance, MTV has given Hamilton money for a shopping trip, but instead, she gives the money to a homeless woman. In explaining her actions, Hamilton states her belief that small actions can have a large impact. This is a key piece of how Hamilton sees her life’s purpose after the accident.

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“Being a top professional surfer would have brought me only a sliver of this recognition and probably only within the tight-knit surfing community.” 


(Chapter 12, Page 171)

Hamilton initially dislikes the media attention that came her way, but as she begins to see it as an opportunity to share a message of faith, she reconciles herself to the idea that worldwide fame is an opportunity presented to her by God, in service of God’s purpose for her life. While celebrity takes her away from her family and from surfing, Hamilton tries to make the best of it so that she can do what God asks of her.

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“But even before I got out of the hospital—in fact, by the second day of my one-week stay—I was talking differently about the possibility of surfing again.” 


(Chapter 13, Page 176)

As a competitive athlete, Hamilton has known for years that mental resilience is just as important as physical resilience. Because of that knowledge, she keeps a careful eye on her own attitude and outlook after the attack. A critical piece of her ability to cope with the loss of her arm is her formulating a plan for the future, and in Hamilton’s case, that means imagining herself surfing again. Being able to surf with only one arm will signal victory over the shark, the injury, and the mental setback that the attack created in her life.

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“But most of all, I have a relationship with Christ that keeps me strong and helps me to see how good can come out of a bad situation.”


(Chapter 15, Page 207)

This summary statement encapsulates how Hamilton understands her entire journey, from success to devastation to recovery. She sees her faith in God as the purpose for everything that has occurred in her life, and this purpose gives Hamilton peace and the ability to persevere and take advantage of the opportunities that come her way. The book is one such opportunity and, as Hamilton understands it, just another piece of God’s plan for her life.

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