In Never Give Up, a new book detailing his life, Canadian Paralympic gold medallist Paul Rosen hopes to encourage others and eliminate the stigma surrounding issues of disability, mental health, addiction, disability and literacy — issues he's faced throughout his 61 years.
The Sharon resident will be speaking about his life and book at Newmarket's Trinity United Church on Sunday, April 3. The book, Rosen says, is not just about hockey, but is "a story about overcoming adversity."
"I have a strong affiliation with the people of York Region and I want people to see somebody who's not just a figure out there but who's got a real story that everybody can relate to."
In the book, Rosen delves into darker areas of his life that include suicide attempts and the struggle with addiction, and though writing it was "scary" and "brought back a lot of demons," he never shied away from including information that might possibly help others.
"I think there's a lot of people out there that are reaching out for help but don't know how to reach out."
Those who know him, or of him, Rosen said, only see the successes he's had, but it's important to realize those things don't tell the whole story about a person.
"They don't know of the demons when the doors shut. I want people to see that no matter how successful you are, there can be many, many issues in your life."
Like many Canadian kids, Rosen's ultimate goal growing up was to be a professional hockey player but a bad break during a 1975 game put an end to those plans. Nowadays, he said, due to medical advancements, things might have turned out differently.
He suffered through numerous surgeries but his leg was never the same and, in 1997, he developed an infection after knee-replacement surgery.
When doctors told Rosen, who was 39 at the time, his leg would have to be amputated, he was actually "relieved" because it meant an end to constant pain and surgeries.
While still in rehab Rosen, joined the Canadian National Sledge Hockey team as a goalie and at 41, he was the oldest rookie in the Games' history when he competed in the 2002 Paralympic games.
Rosen and his teammates went on to win the gold medal at the 2006 games in Turin, Italy.
As the first Canadian goalie to have a shut-out in a gold medal game, his goalie's mask is on permanent display at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Rosen also won a bronze medal as part of the Canadian sitting volleyball team at the 2007 Parapan American Games.
Since retiring from competitive sports, Rosen has worked as a CBC commentator — most recently for the Beijing Olympics — and acts as an ambassador to several companies.
With all his success and the acknowledgment of his achievements, like receiving the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013, Rosen was grappling with severe depression and an addiction to pain medication.
In 2019, after 35 years of addiction, Rosen got "clean and sober" while staying with his daughter in Aurora. The pandemic has been especially tough on those dealing with mental health issues, he said, and he relapsed last January.
Rosen has been drug-free for three months and said he has been both at the top and the bottom of mountains, but "as long as you keep trying to get back up to the top, then you're still battling."
Rosen has given, by his estimation, 1,100 talks as a motivational speaker and what he is most proud of in his life, Rosen said, is breaking the stigma surrounding so many issues and showing others that struggling with issues doesn't lessen an individual's value.
"When you're not judged and you're looked at as a human being that's when you can get the proper help and strive for what you really want in life, and I think everybody wants that, it's just peace."
Rosen will speak at 2 p.m. at Trinity United Church, 461 Park Ave. Tickets are not required but free-will offerings in support of the mission and ministry of Trinity will be accepted.
