The story of beating the odds and living a full life in the wake of an early-life tragedy is so well-trod, it's a wonder we don't rebel against them altogether.

Problem is, there's almost always another irresistible, real-life story making its way off the publishing assembly line.

Josh Sundquist, paralympic skier, author and speaker, has hit on just the right mix of charm, real-life grit and narrative drive with his book, Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain.

Diagnosed at age 9 with Ewing's sarcoma that left him without a left leg, Sundquist was in and out of hospitals before he turned to skiing. Since making the 2006 U.S. Paralympic Ski Team and competing in Turin, Italy, Sundquist has spoken at the White House and before the National Press Club. But he reserves some of his best punch-lines for youth audiences. He's also founder of the online community for amputees, www.LessThanFour.org.

You seem fond of opening your monologues with stories about growing up in small-town Virginia.

For whatever reason, when people from small towns get together with other people from really small towns, they are very proud about being from a small town. But everyone thinks that whatever small town they come from is really boring. For me, it's just a way to segue into other stories -- like cow-tipping.

How did you get John le Carré to enthusiastically blurb your book?

My publisher came to me and and said, 'We need some blurbs.' So I just picked out some fiction writers and e-mailed them. We just sent out advance reader copies and waited for comments to come back. It's funny to me -- learning about publishing. You learn that blurbs aren't usually important to readers, but they're really important to publishing industry leaders.

Most people are really burnt out on Tony Robbins and Dr. Phil-type motivational speaking. What's the trick to making it fresh?

When I started speaking in front of high schools, I first tried to be like Robbins and say, 'I've got my life all figured out. Here's how you can be like me!' Surprise. That just doesn't work, especially in front of high schoolers. You've just go to have an edge of humility: Admit you're human and that you don't have everything figured out. The old-style approach just doesn't work, except maybe in front of adults. My goal is not so much to motivate, but connect with people and provide them with a meaningful story. If people find that inspirational, then that's a bonus.

At times, your book seems to hedge the issue of God and spiritual faith. How did you find that balance?

Growing up, it was sometimes frustrating to me, given the way Christian life was portrayed -- especially in Evangelical circles where life is this glorious journey and Jesus is almost an informercial. To me, if any Christian is honest, that's just not the way life is, for anyone. Christian biographies are cool, but real people have very real struggles. I wanted that to be evidenced in the book. I didn't want it to be a tract.

bfulton@sltrib.com