Watch this when
A broken body isn't a broken person | Janine Shepherd
'If I can't walk, I'll fly.' And she did. ✈️
Who it's for
For people whose injury has taken away something central to who they were (a sport, a job, a way of moving through the world), Shepherd's talk gently separates identity from the body.
Grieving→Hopeful
Feelings it meets
What it is
Janine Shepherd was training for the Winter Olympics as a cross-country skier when she was hit by a truck on a training bike ride in Australia's Blue Mountains. After major spinal surgery and months in a spinal ward, doctors told her she would likely never walk again, and her Olympic dream was over.
Where to find it
Free on TED.com and the TEDx Talks YouTube channel, with captions and transcript.
Before you start
Heads up: Serious road accident and spinal injury.
Age: Ages 12+
“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers” (poem 314)
