If you fall

"I always thought I'd rather be dead than paralysed: One slip, one moment and everything changes..." Most of us live life in a safe zone but some individuals look over the edge.

A few years ago, Karen Darke was on a rock-climbing expedition on sea cliffs in Scotland.

She fell, and was paralysed. This is Karen's story about coming to terms with her lost of movement from the chest down and regaining the will to live.

Out of her disability comes strength to embrace, challenge and transform it into an opportunity to learn and grow.

It is also about the borderline between body and spirit.

Karen is drawn into the world of faith healing and spirit surgeons in the Brazilian jungle.

In testing these improbable claims she explores her own inner world and self whilst regaining her confidence.

Combining wheels with wilderness, Karen escapes the city and embarks on an evermore daring series of adventures by hand-cycle, ski and kayak.

Karen's story is inspiring and energizing; it will help everybody who reads it to respond positively, to overcome adversity, and to strive for their dreams.