What does it take to go through physical trauma and have everything taken away from you and come back to be a better you than before with more joy in your life? Ed Penniman did this and tells you how with art, stories, and unusual but powerful recommendations. Although aimed at people who have had physical trauma, this book can help anyone who has challenges and has to face dramatic change.

Author's comments:

This book is about not falling prey to a negative self-concept after trauma. It is about redefining how you see yourself, how to take your personal challenge, and learn the valuable embedded lesson it may offer. I evolved as a person because I was made aware that I could be a better me after being stripped of my limited ideas of myself. I was given an opportunity to renew and rebrand myself - to live from a deeper and evolving image of who I am.

Come to grips with vulnerability. The past, the present, and the future - these are all things I had a lot of time to think about when I was in the hospital. It took me a few weeks until what was happening to me started to sink in. There was so much activity surrounding me in the hospital that I got caught up in being a patient, rather than being myself. I slowly started to understand that I was a quadriplegic.

Self-preservation. Coming to terms with your disability means losing your innocence. It is a rite of passage and an initiation into a new and higher level of awareness and sensitivity. While in the initiation process, the moment-to-moment unfolding of events requires one to rely on one's self, measure the situation carefully, get information, and safely guide the self through obstacles as they present themselves.