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Tom Ufert, a 46-year-old quadriplegic afflicted with three different disabilities is an inspirational voice in our troubled times. He received his bachelor of arts in political science and history as a scholarship recipient from Centenary College of Louisiana. Tom is a former Rotary International graduate Fellow who attended Australian National University in Canberra, ACT, specializing in East Asian political affairs and was a White House Fellow nominee. He is a former Lyndon Baines Johnson congressional intern and constituency aid for two former United States members of Congress. His past services for 11 political campaigns on both sides of the aisle were highly valued by a former state governor, former assistant chief of staff to the vice president of the United States, and the present US trade ambassador.
At age 23 he was the youngest artistic Board Chairman in the United States as head of the Shreveport Summer Music Festival. Mr. Ufert has served as a member of two other 501(c) three charity boards including his beloved fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia as well as the community advisory board for his former rehabilitation hospital. Over the years he has acquired extensive customer service experience in the food and beverage, hotel, insurance, home security, and pharmaceutical industries. His professional memberships include phi Alpha Theta, sigma tau delta, and the Worldwide Who’s Who. In recent years he has worked tirelessly as a volunteer fundraiser for numero
Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite
Tom Ufert begins his book "Adversity Builds Character: A Second Chance" by discussing his birth and childhood. Like most of us growing up in that era, he was exposed to the viciousness of war on the television. Parents did not censor children’s viewing habits in the 60s. Before age eight his mother had divorced twice, leaving young Tom without a strong male influence at the most critical time of his life. He was still a child when he was forced to face his mother’s struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. Tom Ufert offers readers brutal honesty and hope in "Adversity Builds Character". He candidly discusses his sexual orientation, sexual abuse at the hands of his mentor and his gratitude to the Campbells for being there for him. Ufert ends his story with an amazing quote: “Life is as life is - either accept it, or let it kill you.” He continues with, “but constantly bitching and complaining doesn’t help anyone, least of all you!” There is a lot of wisdom in those words. Sometimes life just happens.
Does adversity build character? Yes, it does if we allow it to. Ufert does not complain, whine or blame everyone for the woes of his life. On the other hand, he prefers to take them in stride and learn from them. So for Ufert, adversity did build his character. Tom Ufert unashamedly proclaims his Christianity. He penned this book as praise to the Lord. Ufert is a talented writer. He tells his story in a well-organized manner and is careful to state the facts but does not dwell on them, always allowing hope to shine through. The reader will come away feeling as though they know Ufert and perhaps they will hear the echo of his voice saying: “Life is as life is - either accept it, or let it kill you."
