Melanie was 52 when she fell off her horse and broke her neck. She spent the next year in the hospital working courageously to regain her strength. She fought for independence in every way...just learning to transfer herself into a car was a huge step for her. When she went home, she went through another round of battles both mentally and physically. I admire her fight for life and her lessons to enjoy life every day!

I won this ARC book from Librarything and I enjoyed reading it very much. I have a Little Free Library and I look forward to sharing this book with others. ( )

This was a difficult book for me to read. I was expecting more about what lessons Melanie Reid learned from her fall and less of the intense treatment and personal care details. And perhaps my perspective is different because I have known enough disabled people to have seen their challenges and the difference that attitude can make in their lives. One thing that I did appreciate is her can-do attitude. You will never make any progress if you just sit back and let the world revolve around you. Melanie Reid wanted no part of that – she was determined to make forward progress and still be able to contribute to this world. She was fortunate that her injury left her able to type with one finger so that she could continue her work as a writer.

I admire her husband. His role in their marriage changed as he had to take over things she had done before. Melanie also did her part to keep the marriage intact. I can relate to her love of horses. Even after her fall from a horse left her so severely injured, she still wanted horses to be a part of her life.

The book is well written, but I just felt too overwhelmed by medical details. Not because they were unfamiliar, but because they just kept coming.

Thank you to Greystone Books and LibraryThing.com for the Advance Reader’s Copy you sent me. No promise was made of a positive review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. ( )

Melanie Reid was paralyzed after falling off a horse. This memoir details with brutal honesty her life following the accident. Reid avoids any sentimentality, which is refreshing in a story like hers. The story is not for the faint of heart, as she explains how all aspects of human life are affected by the inability to control the muscles below the shoulders. Two areas in which I would have liked to have more. First, I didn't come away from the book with a good idea about what it was that Reid learned about life following the accident, which of course is the title of the book. Second, the lack of detail about her life before the accident made it hard to understand the changes in her personal relationships afterward. But Reid is a gifted writer, making her story of her accident and rehabilitation more readable than many others of a similar ilk. ( )

This memoir by Melanie Reed provides an excellent insight into the long term ups and down of high-level spinal cord injury. I work as a Physical Therapist in a hospital setting so I've seen a fair number of high level spinal cord injuries, but I only see patients for the first few weeks following their injury before they transfer to a rehab hospital. Reid's descriptions of what long term intensive therapy and eventual return home looks like showed me an aspect of recovery I'm not very familiar with. Hearing her personal reflections on being in the healthcare system and coming to terms with her injury was helpful because patients I've seen in the early stages are often not in a place to be open with their thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, being a memoir Reid focused on various aspects of her life and recovery meaningful to her but not so interesting to me. The multiple chapters that dealt exclusively with horses and riding culture, specifically. I understand the inclusion of that information but those sections were a real slog for me. Overall I recommend this book for anyone that wants a better insight into spinal cord injury recovery, but don't be afraid to skim through certain sections.

Thanks to Librarything for an ARC in exchange for an honest review ( )

"Even after my experiences, I would defend to my last breadth the right of anyone to choose life, excitement, sport and adventure. Accidents happen (p. 274)."

This is an authentic memoir that provides a personal look into life inside a spinal unit, with intense details, that cannot help but place readers in a place of deep empathy and compassion, rethinking and reformating prior notions, and coming to see what is right in front of us that we take for granted. We are introduced to an array of family, supporters, medical workers and personal correspondents through day to day conversations, hospital visits, memories, dreams and letters as the author progresses through rehabilitation. There is a pragmatism to the book and Melanie throughout all of this maintains a remarkable sense of humor that shows through in her writing and reflections. A heartbreaking yet courageous account that captures the indelible human spirit. ( )