The character arc of Josh Sundquist

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 6 August 1984 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and raised in Harrisonburg as the eldest of four children. Between then and now sit Ewing sarcoma and the loss of his left leg at nine, a first motivational talk at sixteen, ski racing begun six years after the cancer, a move to Colorado at seventeen to pursue it full time, six years of training and competition, selection for the United States Paralympic ski team and two races at the 2006 Games in Turin with no medals, a business degree the same year, a master's in communications, a national bestselling memoir in January 2010, four books, a one man comedy show and a television series that premiered in July 2022. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Josh Sundquist?

Two races at the Paralympics. No medals. Then four books.

He was born in Charlottesville and grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the eldest of four children. At nine he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer, and he lost his left leg to it. He survived. That is the first fact of this line, and everything after it is what a person does next.

Six years after the cancer he started ski racing. At seventeen he moved to Colorado to do it full time. He trained and competed for six years, and in 2006 was named to the United States Paralympic ski team and raced at the Games in Turin that March, in the men's slalom and the men's giant slalom. He did not win a medal. That is the whole result, and this page reports it as such, because the point of the story is not the podium.

He retired from racing after the Games, went back to Virginia and graduated with a business degree the same year, and later took a master's in communications. He had given his first motivational talk at sixteen and has been speaking to groups ever since, to companies, national organisations and audiences across the country.

He wrote. He was a contributing writer for a devotional publication from 2001 and has been published in national newspapers and magazines. His memoir came out on 21 January 2010, covering the illness, the amputation and the mountain, and became a national bestseller. Three more books followed, in 2014, 2017 and 2022. In 2007 a news network named him one of its heroes of the year, for founding a social networking site for people with amputations.

Since July 2018 he has performed an interactive one man comedy show, based on one of his own books, at a theatre in Santa Monica. His memoir was adapted into a television series that premiered in July 2022, and in 2023 he voiced a character in an animated series who, like him, is missing his left leg. He married in September 2015 and lives in Santa Monica, and they had a son in 2023.

The moments

Josh Sundquist's timeline.

The 1980s

6 Aug 1984

Born in Virginia

Everyday. The eldest of four, in a Virginia town.

The 1990s

Jun 1993

A leg lost at nine

Setback, and it changed everything. Nine years old, a bone cancer, and one leg afterwards.

Jun 1999

He starts ski racing

Milestone, and it changed everything. Six years after, and he chose the sport with the most falling in it.

The 2000s

Jun 2000

A first talk at sixteen

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Sixteen, in front of a room, telling it.

1 Jun 2001

Move states for a sport

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: go to Colorado and train, taken, or stay in Virginia. He raced two events at the 2006 Paralympics and won nothing, retired, took a business degree the same year, and in January 2010 published a memoir about the illness and the mountain that became a national bestseller.

Sep 2001

Colorado, full time

Milestone, and it changed everything. Seventeen, and he moved states for a sport.

Mar 2006

The Paralympics, and no medal

Milestone, and it changed everything. Six years of training, two races, and nothing on the podium.

Jun 2006

A degree, and retirement

Milestone, and it changed his direction. He finished the degree in the same year he finished racing.

Dec 2007

A network for amputees

Milestone, and it changed everything. He built the place he would have wanted at nine.

The 2010s

21 Jan 2010

A bestselling memoir

Milestone, and it changed everything. The whole thing written down, and the country bought it.

Dec 2014

A second book

Milestone, and it changed his direction. From memoir to comedy, and then to fiction.

19 Sep 2015

He marries

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A wedding in Maryland, and a home in California.

Jul 2018

A one man comedy show

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The awkward book, performed nightly, on purpose.

The 2020s

22 Jul 2022

His memoir becomes a series

Milestone, and it changed everything. His own childhood, on television, and a cartoon with his leg.

He trained for six years for a Games he came away from with nothing, and then did everything else. What he set moving is a set of books and a show that treat the losing part as material rather than as the end, and an animated character with the same leg missing as his.

What he wrote

Books by Josh Sundquist

2010
Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain
The memoir. The cancer at nine, the amputation, and the six years of ski racing that followed. A national bestseller, later a television series.
2014
We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story
He goes back and interviews the girls who turned him down, to work out what actually happened. It became his one man stage show.
2017
Love and First Sight
A novel, published for young readers.
2022
Semi-Famous
His fourth book, published the same week his memoir arrived on television.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His is a leg lost at nine, six years of training for two races he did not win, and four books after. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

Draw my own line Explore Character Arc

Josh Sundquist: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Josh Sundquist's character arc?

A leg lost to bone cancer at nine, ski racing begun six years later, a move to Colorado at seventeen and six years of training, then two races at the 2006 Paralympics and no medal. He went home, took a degree, and wrote a bestselling memoir.

Did Josh Sundquist win a Paralympic medal?

No. He was named to the United States Paralympic ski team and raced the men's slalom and giant slalom at the 2006 Games in Turin, and did not medal in either. He retired from professional racing after the Games and graduated with a business degree the same year.

How did Josh Sundquist lose his leg?

Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer, diagnosed when he was nine. He lost his left leg to it and survived. He later founded a social networking website for people with amputations, which is what a news network named him one of its heroes of 2007 for.

What books has Josh Sundquist written?

Four. Just Don't Fall in January 2010, a national bestselling memoir. We Should Hang Out Sometime in 2014, which became his stage show. The novel Love and First Sight in 2017. And Semi-Famous in July 2022.

What is Josh Sundquist's Best Foot Forward?

A television series adapted from his memoir Just Don't Fall, which premiered on Apple TV Plus on 22 July 2022 and is about his early life. In 2023 he also voiced a character in an animated series who, like him, is missing his left leg.

What does Josh Sundquist do now?

He speaks, writes and performs. He gave his first motivational talk at sixteen and has spoken to companies and national organisations since, and since July 2018 has performed an interactive one man comedy show at a playhouse in Santa Monica, where he lives.

Where does this timeline of Josh Sundquist's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Josh Sundquist isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

More character arcs

Lives that rhyme with his.

Every Character, A to Z

Sources

Josh Sundquist, English Wikipedia biography.
Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain, Viking, January 2010.
International Paralympic Committee results for the 2006 Winter Paralympics, Turin, men's slalom and giant slalom.
CNN Heroes 2007 record.
Apple TV Plus record for Best Foot Forward, premiered 22 July 2022.
No Wikiquote page exists for him.