To Exist As I Am

What do you do when life changes in an instant?

What does it mean to heal when the world keeps asking what's wrong?

At the age of twenty-two, Grace Spence Green's spine was broken at the fourth thoracic vertebra. One day, she was in hospital supporting patients, the next she was fighting for her own life. As she struggled to piece together her new life as a wheelchair user, she wondered how she could she be both a doctor and a patient.

To Exist As I Am chronicles Grace's journey from idealistic medical student to spinal-injury patient, and then to qualified doctor and vocal disability activist. Her life-affirming reflections question the value we place on independence, in favour of the rich networks of care that bind us together. She asks how we might fight for change, while joyously embracing life as we are.