Photo by Jerry Stone
It was March 17, 1977. It didn’t look good for W. Ron Adams that day. A coal mining accident left him with a broken neck and contemplating a lifetime confined to a wheelchair. He could have resigned himself to an existence of self-pity. Instead, 45 years later this month, he will release his memoir, Coal Mine to Courtroom: A Quadriplegic’s Memoir of Relentless Faith, Courage and Eternal Success.
“When I got hurt and was getting ready to turn 20, they were saying, ‘Well, your life is over as you know it,’ ” Adams said in a video call with his co-writer, Fred Anderson. “It’s like, I’m not thrilled about where I’m at, but I’m a little young for it to be over.”
Four decades later, Adams runs a prominent law firm in Erlanger and works to inspire others to push through life’s obstacles. “I didn’t want to write a book to say I wrote a book,” he said. “But I believe God takes everything in your life and uses that for your own journey. Part of the reason, I believe, that I’m in the chair still is because I’m supposed to use where I am to help other people who are similarly situated or who need to have some perspective change in their own world.”
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Following the initial chapter describing the accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, the book highlights Adams’ childhood in St. Charles (Hopkins County), Uniontown (Union) and Dawson Springs (Hopkins). It was at Dawson Springs High School where Adams made a name for himself as a standout basketball player, even landing a scholarship to Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg. When an ankle injury his freshman year forced him to sit out the season, he went back home and took a job in a Uniontown coal mine to raise money to finish college. That’s when he suffered a broken neck in the mine accident and vowed not to give up hope but to fight through life, doing what he needed to do to “go forward.”
“I just kept on, one step at a time. That’s all I could do,” he said. “[With] each degree I collected I thought, ‘Now can I make a living?’ and the answer was ‘No’ on a bachelor’s degree and ‘No’ on a master’s degree.”
Adams went on to law school and subsequently opened his own law firm. “I opened the door and put my shingle out there and typed one finger at a time for about a year, and it slowly got better and better. Thirty-five years later, I’m an overnight success,” he said.
The stories about what happened during those 35 years—some comical, some heartbreaking, some even cringy—are related in the memoir with such raw honesty that Adams includes a disclaimer in the introduction: “My intention is not to offend readers or air dirty laundry, but merely to tell my story as honestly as possible, warts and all … In some cases, my opinions, as described in this book, were based on youthful ignorance or human imperfection.”
Some of those stories include tales of people who have come in and out of his life, and Adams does not paint some of them in a positive light. “I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble, but they may or may not like everything I said,” Adams said. “But everything I said was the truth—at least as I saw it.”
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Anderson, who brought Adams’ tales to life, said he couldn’t tell the story of Ron’s life without relating some of the negative aspects. But he also didn’t want the book to be a “woe is me” account of his friend. “I wanted his sense of humor to come through,” Anderson said. “Ron is a funny guy, and he doesn’t sit around feeling sorry for himself. I wanted his personality to come through.”
The two began working on the book roughly three years ago. Anderson said they could have had it ready for publication last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused several delays. “It ended up being a blessing in disguise because if we had finished the book when we originally wanted to, I don’t think it would have had as many interesting little anecdotes as it does now,” Anderson said. “[Ron and I] would be talking and think we’re just about finished with it, and then he and I would have a casual conversation, and he would tell me some story that I hadn’t heard before. I would say, ‘We probably gotta put that in the book.’ ”
Adams admitted that he’s “done a lot of crazy things” and wanted to share “the good, bad and ugly” with the hope that he could help others. “Sometimes, it seems better to add more discretion than valor. But I really hope that when people read that, they’ll be able to relate to something, because perspective is everything,” he said. “ ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’ as they say.”
Adams continues to practice law in northern Kentucky but admits to “slowing down some”—working 50-hour weeks instead of his usual 70-hour pace. He has no plans to retire.
“We are always looking to see if the grass is greener on the other side, but it still has to be mowed,” he said. “As long as I’m of some value to somebody, I’m going to keep plugging along.”
Meet the Author
W. Ron Adams will sign his new book, Coal Mine to Courtroom: A Quadriplegic’s Memoir of Relentless Faith, Courage and Eternal Success, at several locations. Here are a few:
Roebling Point Books & Coffee
March 16, 5-6:30PM
306 Greenup Street
Covington, 859.292.1560
roeblingpointbooksandcoffee.com
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
March 21, 7PM
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati, 513.396.8960
josephbeth.com
Southern Kentucky Book Festival
March 26, 9AM-3PM
Knicely Conference Center
2355 Nashville Road
Bowling Green
sokybookfest.org
Carmichael’s Books
April 8, 6PM
2720 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, 502.896.6950
carmichaelsbookstore.com
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
April 18, 7PM
161 Lexington Green Circle
Lexington, 859.273.2911
josephbeth.com