Thank you to everyone for reading, it means a lot to me. I want to discuss A few reasons why I decided to write this book and what i hoped to achieve in doing so.

I started writing awhile after my injury, at first for therapeutic reasons and later I set up an online community for people who have suffered a spinal cord injury – I hoped by writing about my struggles it would help others going through the same.

 Many people told me over the last number of years I should write a book and I decided to take the plunge around this time last year, piecing together articles, blogs, and diary entries from the last nine years.

the book was a great opportunity for me to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in my journey.

Those who got my family and I through one of the hardest times in our lives and continue to do so. There are so many people, hundreds, and I cannot even begin to name everyone and what you have done for us. For those who took time out of their busy lives to fundraise, to organise events, send prayers, visit both myself and my family, donate money, send gifs, hold masses. The list is endless.

In the book I talk about Communities and how they play an important role in every aspect of our lives.  This group may be large or small, but a strong bond of unity and solidarity is paramount, and it is essential during tough times. My community of Snugboro, Castlebar and even further afield (both nationally and internationally) helped me to rebuild my life, and for that .I am truly blessed and eternally grateful.

Secondly, I wanted to close a chapter on a hurtful time with confidence and move forward and writing this book has helped me do that.

 I don’t think there is an easy way to start over. Whether after a relationship, the end of a career, a death, an illness or anytime we find ourselves in a situation we haven’t prepared for.

To buckle under the weight of the blow can feel like our only option but it’s not.

You reach that moment when the tears have stopped and you’ve taken maybe your first deep breath in months, even years, and you’re still. you’re quiet.

 you’re wondering how on earth something good can come next and if you should even bother hoping for it.

But Profound shifts in viewpoint often happen at the heel of our life’s very own calamity moments.

Only when I let go of what could have been and turned my attention to what can be moving forward was possible.

 I can now look to the future – however, uncertain it may be – having closed a chapter on a difficult time in my life and starting a new one

Finally, I decided to write the book to offer support for others going through an ordeal and to give them some hope there will come a time when things become easier again, even if you cannot see it right now.

It is not always easy, but we must just keep going.

To put our head down, grit our teeth and weather the storm that has thrown us of our once clearer path in life.

The alternative to acting is simply unacceptable.

 Because that’s what life is… a storm. You can’t hide from the inevitable blizzards that life throws at you; you can’t outrun them or even defeat them. Most of the time you simply have to outlast the storm by clinging stubbornly to the spot and from somewhere deep within finding the strength and courage to keep going and know that the storms will eventually pass.

But these disturbances provide powerful opportunities to learn, to develop resilience and to find new ways of ‘learning to dance in the rain’.

A Japanese author, Haruki Murakami wrote “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. that’s what storms are all about”

And I now know that with the right support behind you, we can overcome any blizzard in our lives.  Because those who dance with us in the rain will most likely walk with us in the storms!