There I Am: The Journey from Hopelessness to Healing

Podcaster Lindsey shares her story of living with chronic pain in this riveting memoir. Raised in rural Louisiana, Lindsey was a happy child with two brothers in a devout Christian family. Shortly after being named homecoming queen, she suffered serious spinal injuries in a car accident, and was not expected to live. Lindsey underwent surgery, followed by a spinal fusion, and was out of the hospital nearly two months later. But her struggles didn’t end there, as she lived with intense physical pain. A few years later, Lindsey underwent a second surgery and became dependent on opiates. She was buoyed, however, by her family’s support, kicked her addiction, and began to confront her trauma by using social media and her podcasts to help others cope with chronic pain. Lindsey’s prose flows fluidly, and readers will be arrested by her descriptions of dealing with grief and the nature of love (love “is not the throb of my name across a football field but the low, tender call for me across a sterile room”). This inspiring story of a young woman’s personal battle serves as a reminder of human resilience and hope. (Apr.)