Life Upside Down

How to Come Up From the Depths of Grief, Loss or Life Transition

Beth's life changed in an instant after her partner crashed on his mountain bike and broke his neck. The story begins when Michael doesn't return home for dinner while riding a Colorado trail. Search and Rescue find him and transport him to the nearest hospital. With severe spinal cord injuries, he is left paralyzed from the neck down. Beth must navigate the complex world of quadriplegia while coming to grips with the new role she's has thrust into, from partner to caregiver.

She's dropped into a crevice of deep grief and finds herself in an unexpected apprenticeship with sorrow. She clings to her life mantra of many years-love what is. A state of surrender easy to convey, but so hard to practice. Because how do you love quadriplegia and how do you befriend grief?

Life Upside Down traverses uncategorized grief, mired in the confusion of non-death related loss. Michael was still alive but so much of their life had died.

Beth searches for out of the box ways to cope. She finds the Dagara Grief Ritual from West Africa and she also walks part of the Camino de Santiago in France and Spain.

Both face immense physical and emotional challenges, but through it all, they never lose sight of their love for each other and their determination to persevere. In fact, it propels them forward. Her relationship to Michael helps forge this process like a river carves rock.

Beth shares the ups and downs of her journey with raw honesty and irreverent humor. You will laugh and cry and may do both at the same time. In the end you will be inspired to continue living your own life with more tools to keep your heart open while being broken open.

Life Upside Down is a must-read for anyone facing a major loss or life transition. It's a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit and the boundless capacity of the human heart to love and to heal. This book will help you come right side up again.

This is a story of hope, of overcoming adversity, and of the power of love to heal even the most profound wounds. Ultimately it's about the medicine grief has for us if we open to it.