“Soul Surfer” tells the true and inspiring story of professional surfing champion, Bethany Hamilton. The movie has an all star cast including Anna Sophia Robb, who plays Bethany, Helen Hunt, who plays Bethany’s mom, Carrie Underwood, who plays Bethany’s youth leader, and Dennis Quaid, who plays Bethany’s dad.

The movie starts out by telling the story of Bethany’s childhood and how her love for surfing literally started soon after she left her mother’s womb. Bethany, played by Anna Sophia Robb, and her best friend Alana Blanchard, played by Lorraine Nicholson, both dreamed of becoming professional surfers and they were well on their way.

On Halloween day 2003, everything changed when a 14 foot tiger shark attacked Bethany, taking her arm and causing her to lose more than sixty percent of her blood. After the attack, Bethany has to adjust to the physical and the emotional affects of the attack. Her determination to move forward after the attack is both unshakable and inspiring. She does whatever it takes to get back on the board and continue on in life. By the end of the movie, she is back on the board, competing at the national surfing championships.

While the movie has a positive message, it does not sugar coat what happened to Bethany. This is a young woman who has endured a tragedy and the movie shows the struggles she faced as she had to adjust to the realities of life with one arm both physically and emotionally. At the climax of the movie, Bethany even gives her surfboards away because she is having so much difficulty surfing with one arm and feels her life as a surfer is over. In one scene, Bethany cries to her youth leader, Sarah Hill, about why this had to happen to her and Sarah says that Bethany needs to keep the faith and believe that something good is going to come out of this. By the end of the movie, something good is begins to come out of Bethany’s tragedy because she is inspiring others and helping them overcome their own tragedies. One of the most touching scenes of the film is when Bethany receives a letter from a boy, Logan, who lost his arm and is trying out for his school’s soccer team because of Bethany.

Watching this movie is not just a way to entertain yourself for a couple hours…it is a way to change your life and be inspired like you never have before. At some point in our lives, we all face adversity and we have to overcome challenges. Bethany’s story of courage, perseverance and determination will inspire you to overcome whatever life throws at you. Whether you can relate to surfing or not, you can be inspired by the story of this amazing, courageous young woman.