It is hard to imagine how fast life can change. Does anyone really believe that in 11 seconds a healthy, athletic 20-year-old man can become immobilized for life?

For the now-famous Travis Roy, that is reality.

In a new book written by the young hockey player, Eleven Seconds, Roy reveals everything about the accident and his life since.

Before the accident, Roy played on collegiate ice and set goals for his future in the sport. As a boy in hockey camp, a coach told him to write his goals as a player. Join a local travel team, make the Maine all-star team, be one of the top three scorers as a high school freshman, play Division One college hockey . all the way to the National Hockey League. Roy achieved them all up to college.

The story is so textbook, so heartbreakingly predictable. Going into a book as tragic as this one, a reader might expect a black hole of self-pity and regrets. But Roy does not mire the reader in frustration and bible quotes. He tells his story plainly, emotionally. The times he mentions anything remotely bitter can be counted on one hand.

Many tears will fall while reading his monologue, but they will not be out of pity. Most will be of tenderness, of admiration and of happiness. They will be accompanied by laughter and smiles. Even the most macho of men will find himself with wet cheeks. Roy is humble and does not like the spotlight. The way he looks at it, quadriplegics all have stories. He is not the only one.

The most important thing a reader will take from the book is the author’s optimistic and strong mindset. Huge hurdles will seem smaller, goals within grasp.

Roy never assumes the reader knows everything about his situation, and he never makes the reader feel embarrassed about not knowing. He explains the difference between quadriplegics and paraplegics and gives details about his wheelchair and various other devices.

Because of its narrative voice, Eleven Seconds is an easy read in three or four hours. It is as if Roy is speaking through the book. Do not be fooled by the simple wording because the feelings it evokes are far from simple. The story of a young man going from finding joy in the finesse of scoring a goal on the ice to figuring out how to do a figure eight with a sip-and-puff wheelchair, is loaded with powerful emotions.