When Christopher Reeve fell from a horse and broke his neck, leaving him catastrophically injured it was a shock. Not just for him, his family and friends but for a world who grew up watching him be “Superman”.  It was the first film I ever saw at the cinema.

So often we think of people with disabilities as having been born that way, because it’s easier than admitting that a large proportion of disabled people were once just like us (if you’re lucky enough to be able bodied), and that it’s something that could happen to anyone. 

And for something like this to happen to you, and to be able to work through the anger and frustration, to rise above your own pain and heal the fractured relationships with your family, and then to reach out to others, to try and improve the situation not just for yourself but for other injured people - maybe that’s what makes a real hero. 

Yes, it may make you cry, make you appreciate every sensation in your body, make you want to hold your loved ones a little closer, but above all this book for me was about exactly what the title suggests.  That almost everything can be taken from you, your health, your status, your friends, your family, but you can choose how you react to your situation, how you rise above it, and you can still be you even after all the things you think define you are long gone.