Published By: Seven Dials
Pages: 192
Date Released: 07/09/2017
Being challenged in life is inevitable but being defeated is optional.
Henry Fraser was 17 years old when a tragic accident severed his spinal cord. Paralysed from the shoulders down, he has conquered unimaginable difficulty to embrace life and a new way of living. Through challenging adversity, he has found the opportunity to grow and inspire others.
This book combines his wisdom and insight into finding the gifts in life’s challenges, and will resonate with anyone facing an obstacle, no matter how big or small. It includes Henry’s thoughts on how to look at the right things and avoid the wrong, finding progress in whatever you do, and acknowledging and accepting the darkness when it comes. Right at the heart of Henry’s inspiring philosophy is his belief that every day is a good day.
*****
I have worked with and been around children and young people with disabilities for over twenty years, and their ability to see the positives in life, no matter the obstacles, always astounds me. But Henry’s courage goes beyond measure.
To have your life as you know it ripped away at any age is tough, but it must be unbelievably hard at 17, when you’re just starting to figure out your place in life. I have my own medical problems and am facing a potential future surrounded by mobility aids in case I lose the ability to walk, and I am ten years older than Henry was when his accident occurred, and yet I’m still pushing through the darkness.
To have your life unimaginably changed by doing something you’ve done many times before, really hammers it home that you must always be grateful for what you have in life, and to focus on what you can do and your opportunities in life, rather than the things you can no longer do. Maybe without his accident, Henry wouldn’t have found a love of art? Maybe without his accident, Henry wouldn’t have got involved with so many amazing charities? Maybe without his accident, Henry wouldn’t have met so many inspirational people and been able to count himself amongst them. We will never know what would have happened, but Henry believes that every day can be a good day. And I will do my best to remember that.
Books By Your Bedside 