1.6 seconds. That’s how long it takes to fall two stories. That’s how long it takes for life to change.

When Michael Murphy was 21, he fell off a roof at college and landed flat on his back, severing his spine. They say that nobody understands their own traumatic injury just after it happens-but Michael did. Every person falls. They fall short in school, in life, in work, and in love. Their lives sometimes feel punctuated by those downfalls-the rejection letters, the unrequited love, the missed promotions, the life altering traumas. Everyone falls. But then what?

When I Fell is a true tale of going from abled, to disabled, to empowered. It combines the story surrounding Michael’s recovery with the science of resiliency and thriving-what psychologists are now calling Posttraumatic Growth (PTG)-to teach readers how to hit home runs when life throws them curves. Befitting new mainstream acceptance for disabilities, When I Fell is as much a memoir as it is a message. It features the five principles established by Drs. Tedeschi and Calhoun-the pioneers who coined the phrase in the 1990’s-for scientific validation to bring PTG further into the public eye.