EP # 1224: How to Tap into the Resilience of the Human Spirit During Difficult Times & the Importance of Self-Care

Send us a text Lisa is joined by Rebecca Fogg who talks about her book, Beautiful Trauma: An Explosion, an Obsession, and a New Lease on Life. In 2008, Rebecca Fogg walked away from her New York life and career in financial services to move to London, where she co-founded the Institute of Pre-Hospital Care at London’s Air Ambulance and continues to work, write and learn Scottish fiddle. BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA: An Explosion, an Obsession, and a New Lease on Life (Penguin Random House; Avery), is Fogg’s first book. It was awarded the 2019 Royal Society of Literature Giles St. Aubyn Judge's Special Commendation for work in progress. BOOK DESCRIPTION: A compelling account of surviving a freak accident, and a fascinating exploration of the science of trauma and recovery. Late one night, while Rebecca Fogg was alone in her apartment, her hand was partially amputated in an explosion. Quick thinking saved her life, but the journey to recovery would be a slow one. As the doctors rebuilt her hand, Rebecca (who also survived 9/11) began rebuilding her sense of self by studying the physical and psychological process of recovery. Interspersing the personal with the medical, Rebecca charts her year of rehabilitation, touching on the marvelously adaptable anatomy of the hand; how the brain’s fight-or-flight mechanism enables us to react instantly to danger; and why trauma causes some people to develop PTSD and gives others a whole new lease on life. Told with emotional and intellectual clarity, Beautiful Trauma is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit and the wonder of the human hand.