Soul Surfer

Chapter 10 is a deep dive into Bethany Hamilton’s faith: how it took root, how it grew, and how it sustains her and motivates her actions. Having just spent the previous chapter inviting the reader into the joy of surfing, in this chapter Hamilton writes, “Being tight with God is even more important to me than surfing” (134). Having faith in God, Hamilton writes, is not something that she feels the need to justify. Rather, she writes: “It’s the same as surfing: you can’t know what it feels like, what it does for you, unless you’re a part of the club” (136).

Included in this chapter is a brief story about a man named Joseph Damien de Veuster, a missionary to Hawaii. Hamilton credits de Veuster, who worked with lepers, as her inspiration and relates several brief stories about how losing her arm has enabled Hamilton to reach out and inspire others to overcome their own handicaps and challenges.

Aloha, Hamilton writes, is far more than simply a way to say hello and goodbye. Rather, it “means a mutual regard and affection of one person for another without any expectation of something in return” (146). Thus, when people care for one another out of the goodness of their hearts, they are acting in the spirit of aloha.