I always thought I'd rather be dead than paralysed: One slip, one moment and everything changes...
I always thought I'd rather be dead than paralysed: One slip, one moment and everything changes...
Inspiration & personal growth, Personal memoirs
GOLD MEDAL in road cycling at the 2016 Rio Paralympics
SILVER MEDAL in road cycling at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Karen Darke was on a rock-climbing expedition on sea cliffs in Scotland. She fell, and was paralysed. This is her true story of exploration, not just of the world of mountains, but of the inner struggle she faces after her disaster to come back to terms with life. Out of her disability comes a strength to embrace the challenge and transform it into an opportunity to learn and grow. Despite the challenges of combining wheels with wilderness, Karen escapes the world of concrete for the inspiration and peace of mountains and the natural environment, in an evermore daring series of adventures by hand-cycle, ski and kayak. This is a real-life adventure story that will take you from the brink of death to hand-cycling the heights of the Himalayas, from bold expeditions to the rusty knife of a Brazilian spirit surgeon. This story will fill you with inspiration and energy, and help your ability to respond positively, to overcome adversity. It offers hope and belief to anyone facing challenges in life. A life-impacting read, it will motivate you to strive for your personal goals and dreams.
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Karen Darke's story is about the indomitability of spirit, from one of life's cruel vagaries of fortune to what is insight and inspiration. She has overcome the limitations of paralysis and discovered a life of challenge and adventure that many of us only dream about. It is all about the mind, the spirit and the desire that some of us find, but which all of us posses. ~ Joe Simpson, Mountaineer and author of Touching the Void
Karen's captivating story shines a bright light on the meaning of challenge, and on the limitless capabilities of the human spirit. ~ Ranulph Fiennes, Expedition leader
Karen's story is one that enlightens as it inspires. Its wisdom, insight and courage remind us that we can meet the challenges of our lives; transform and transcend them, to embrace life with passion and joy. ~ Matthew Ferguson, Motivational coach and therapist (www.motivationretreats.co.uk)
This is one of the most powerful books I have read this year. ...As other commentators have noted, it records the triumph of the human spiprit over adversity. I should add that it is vividly, even brilliantly written, and that the reader is wholly caught up in the narrative. It is a book that encourages the reader to ask if they could do more, and live and more intensely. it also relates the personal with the universal, based as it is on a number of inspiring quotations about the human condition. ~ , Network Review
A tale that serves to remind us that the human spirit is a truly wonderful thing. Darke - paralysed on a rock-climbing accident - is just as active after her accident as before it, taking us with her as she cycles along some very inspirational roads. ~ , London Cyclist Magazine
