Subject of Shoulder The Lion

Like the boxer in Million Dollar Baby, Katie Dallam was a Missouri girl who grew up in poverty. In 1996, Katie began boxing. After only  two months of training, her trainer urged her into a professional match and Katie stepped into the ring with a far more experienced boxer. By the end of four two-minute rounds, Katie had received 150 blows to the head and was comatose by the time she reached a hospital. Katie survived but had to relearn both how to walk and read, and her vision and memory were also affected. Deeply depressed, she attempted suicide but then took up an earlier interest and began painting.   Katie wants to set the record straight. She is passing her message on to others:  People can live on after terrible injuries and live rich, productive lives. As the real-life story behind Million Dollar Baby, Katie’s life reveals  Hollywood fiction and its values for what they are: propaganda.  Even with great disabilities,we can live life to the fullest, if we don't buy into the philosophy that there is such a thing as a life not worth living. The film Million Dollar Baby may have won Academy Awards, but Katie’s  true story wins the much greater award, the one for courage and human dignity.