IF SHOWS LIKE "Ex- treme Makeover: Home Edition" make your eyeballs wet, you might want to buy a few dozen boxes of tissue before undertaking "Double Take: A Memoir," a touching work of nonfiction by Kevin Michael Connolly. Born without legs, the resilient 23-year-old takes readers through an abridged version of his life at ground level, and it resonates like a cannon in a cave.

Kevin is handsome, athletic and supremely talented. He was also born without a bottom half, a condition that would prevent most people from living life to the fullest. Born into a loving Montana family, Kevin's childhood was anything but ordinary. Unwilling to make their son feel like he didn't belong, the Connollys pushed Kevin to be his best. They didn't flinch when he wanted to wrestle, budge when he trained to ski, or guffaw when he opted to travel the world on a skateboard. Instead, they let him live his life outside of the lines, and the result is a remarkable portrait of the human spirit.

The chapters in this memoir capture several poignant moments of Kevin's life--everything from being beaten up in grade school to photographing strangers' stares while skateboarding through 17 countries. What happens in between is a story that's both touching and comedic, inspiring and telling. Throughout, readers are treated to a powerful story that questions normalcy and beckons them to break through their own barriers.

Nicholas Addison Thomas is a freelance writer in Fredericksburg.