Bend, Don't Break

Bend, Don’t Break: A Memoir of Endurance is a book written by Frank O’Mara of Little Rock (Pulaski County). It was released in February 2024 by the O’Brien Press of Dublin, Ireland. Though it outlines his childhood in Ireland and his track career, Bend, Don’t Break is primarily about O’Mara’s battle with Parkinson’s disease. Proceeds from the book were dedicated to Parkinson’s disease research. 

Though he moved to Arkansas in the fall of 1978, O’Mara remains a hero in his native Ireland. He was born in Limerick in 1960. He ran three times for Ireland in the Olympics, competing as a distance runner in 1984, 1988 and 1992. O’Mara was a commentator for Irish television during subsequent summer Olympics. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009 at age forty-eight. 

In the book’s dedication, O’Mara writes: “I wish I had never met a single neurologist, but 14 years into this saga, I have the contact details for many. This book is dedicated to all those from whom I have received treatment or counsel, but especially to Dr. Lee Archer and Dr. Rohit Dhall at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, and Dr. Kendall Lee at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Without your care, many of us would not have the tools to cope.” 

O’Mara graduated from the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County) with an engineering degree. While running as a professional track athlete, he also earned a master’s degree in business and a law degree from the university. After retiring from professional track, O’Mara moved to Little Rock in January 1997 to join Alltel, which had been founded in 1946 as Allied Telephone Co. He quickly moved up through the ranks and became an executive of the wireless telephone company. 

O’Mara said he thrived under pressure at Alltel. Then came the sale of Alltel and the signs that something was wrong physically: “The first indication that something nefarious had invaded my body appeared on Jan. 9, 2009, the day after Verizon Wireless completed its purchase of Alltel, the largest mobile phone provider gobbling up the fifth largest,” O’Mara writes in the book. “I should have taken heed of those early signs, but I was preoccupied with what I thought was a more imminent threat. The team I worked with had done a tremendous job keeping Alltel relevant against the behemoths, AT&T and Verizon, whose advertising budgets were well over $1 billion a year. 

The progression of the disease was rapid. O’Mara experienced tremors, severe muscle cramps, and the inability to walk and, at times, even speak. “Such is the all-consuming nature of this odious disease that it tries to define your life,” O’Mara writes. “Today, I am first and foremost a Parkinson’s warrior. My everyday schedule consists of one task above all others: do battle with the disease and slow its progression. Before PD, I would have described myself in the simplest of terms as an athlete and a businessman with a wonderful wife, three beloved sons—Jack, Colin and Harry—and friends all over the world.” 

O’Mara worked for another telecommunications firm after the Alltel sale before retiring to write and concentrate on his battle with Parkinson’s. He and his wife Patty O’Mara continue to live in Little Rock. Bend, Don’t Break met with positive reviews both in Ireland and the United States. 

“After years of fighting an endless war against the advancing foe, I am now much more guarded in my optimism,” O’Mara writes in the book. “Unbridled positivity prevented me from accepting my fate and getting on with it. Parkinson’s is my mortal enemy. It will always be, but my focus should be on learning to live with the condition rather than trying to outwit it. If I could just come to terms with my incapacities, I could suck the remaining sap from my tree of life.” 

O’Mara concludes the book looking into the future: “I have to stop thinking that I’ll enjoy life again when I get over this ailment. I have changed irreversibly, but that doesn’t mean I have been broken….I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I am focused on what matters: living in the now, loving my family and friends. I will plan for the future, but I will never dwell on the future. I will never play a part I haven’t been assigned. I will run the race one lap at a time, and I will not worry about the result. I will bend, but I will not break.” 

For additional information:
Clancy, Sean. “Frank O’Mara.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 19, 2024, pp. 1D, 8D. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2024/may/19/frank-omara/ (accessed March 31, 2025).  

Clay, Jack. “‘Bend, Don’t Break’: A Q&A with Frank O’Mara.” Arkansas Times, June 23, 2024. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2024/06/23/bend-dont-break-a-qa-with-frank-omara (accessed March 31, 2025). 

O’Mara, Frank. Bend, Don’t Break: A Memoir of Endurance. Dublin, Ireland: O’Brien Press, 2024. 

Rex Nelson
Little Rock, Arkansas