What if you stopped focusing on what’s impossible, and opened yourself up to what’s possible? Marc Evers is two years old and it’s impossible for anyone to get through to him. His parents are told by a psychiatrist he has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and that he’ll never be able to talk or function independently. For this reason, the psychiatrist recommends institutionalization. Thankfully, they don’t listen.

Eighteen years later, Marc is preparing to compete in the 100-metre backstroke at the 2012 London Paralympics. He walks, talks, and rides his bike. He’s his own person, surrounded by a busy family – and he can swim like a torpedo. With five Paralympic medals and many world records, Marc Evers is the Netherlands’ greatest Paralympic swimming champion. How did he manage to beat the odds?

Written by Ivo van Woarden, art by Gemma Plum, color by Marloes Dekkers, and translated by Michele Hutchison, The Great Marc Evers is a moving, intimate, inspiring, and above all optimistic coming-of-age portrait of Marc and his family. A beautifully drawn story about perseverance, hope, and strength, about trusting your intuition and daring to believe. It arrives November 20 in the US and October 1 in the UK from SelfMadeHero.