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The goal. Life was everything she had wished it to be - until her world was shattered by a devastating bus accident on a rural mountain road in Laos. Photojournalist Alison Wright lived for the life of travel and adventure, relishing in those places that took her off the beaten track. Oh, just the simple task of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Hours away from medical treatment, Wright was nearly fatally wounded, with a plethora of broken bones, collapsed lungs, and literally hundreds of shards of broken glass sticking out of her arm.After miraculously surviving the crash, countless challenges faced Wright, from receiving hundreds of stitches from a man with no medical training, to the long process of recovery. Bed-ridden and depressed, Wright refused to let her injuries hold her back and vowed to not only recover - but to thrive. This truly inspirational story will leave you humbled, awed, and amazed until the last page. Reviewed by Jackie Correa
I couldn't put it down, I read it straight through. Feeling a little low, a little defeated, down on your luck. Read this woman's miraculous story of survival and you'll wonder what you were whining about. It's a prime example of how the human body is fragile and tough in equal parts, and how spirit can transcend the physical. I was making my way through a very trying illness when I read this book and it inspired me to keep pushing.
This inspiring memoir could have been so much better if the author or her editor knew how to spell, knew the difference between too and two; knew the difference between whose and who's, the difference between better and best, etc. I still owe you a beer). Strange also was her description -- in the third-to-last page of the book -- of finally learning about the death of Alan Guy. And then five pages later, in her Acknowledgments, writing: (Alan, please call me. Sloppy stories, incorrect geography, incomplete references. Her story of physical survival deserves better.
I was excited to read this book, having an interest both in adventurous women and Buddhism, however, I have to agree with Publishers Weekly that harder editing would have helped. It is often presented in a style that seemed like a rush from here to there in the pursuit of physical recovery. Wright throws out, "Next stop Uganda, to white-water raft the Zambezi River, in hair-raising class five rapids." The Zambezi certainly doesn't flow anywhere near Uganda.
This is a major distinciton between the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. Wright is a gifted photgrapher dedicated to humanitarian issues. I was surprised to read that, during Wright's visit to Wat Pa Ban Tat monastery in Thailand described on pages 93-4, a Thai monk would call Wright a 'bodhisattva.' Thai monks belong to the Theravada tradition that uses the term `bodhisattva' to refer only to the past lives of the Buddha, such as those recounted in the Jataka tales.
It rises in Zambia about 690 miles southwest of Uganda, and flows south through Angola and Zambia to the border with Zimbabwe, and then east to Mozambique and finally to the Indian Ocean. In the Tibetan Mahahyana tradition, however, that Wright is familiar with, both monastics and lay practitioners are referred to as `bodhisattvas' once they have taken vows to deliver all beings. Another instance that surprised me occurs on page 209.
Her story of determination and courage deserved better editing in general. I wished for more of her insights and development as a Buddhist practitioner, especially on her development of lovingkindness on the path of a bodhisattva.
As a photographer, this book really appeals to me but it's much more than a book about a photo-journalist and her travels around the world. It's an incredible survival story. The book is fast moving, interesting, and very hard to set down once you start reading. I highly recommend this book.
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