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Things I Learned from Falling

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Things I Learned from Falling

By: Claire Nelson
Narrated by: Claire Nelson
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About this listen

An inspirational and gripping first-person account of determination, adversity and survival against the odds.

In 2018, Claire Nelson made international headlines. She was in her thirties and was beginning to burn out - her hectic London life of work and social activity and striving to do more and do better in the big city was frenetic and stressful. Although she was surrounded by people all of the time, she felt increasingly lonely.

When the anxiety she felt finally brought her to breaking point, Claire decided to take some time off and travelled to Joshua Tree Park in California to hike and clear her head. What happened next was something she could never have anticipated.

While hiking, Claire fell 25 feet, gravely injuring herself and she lay alone in the desert - mistakenly miles off any trail, without a cell phone signal, fighting for her life. She lay in the elements for four days until she was miraculously found - her rescuers had not expected to find her alive.

In THINGS I LEARNED FROM FALLING Claire tells her incredible story and what it taught her about loneliness, anxiety and transformation and how to survive it all.

©2019 Claire Nelson (P)2019 Octopus Publishing Group Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Art & Literature Hiking Journalists, Editors & Publishers Outdoors & Nature Personal Development Personal Success Survival

Critic Reviews

'Uplifting and brave' - Stylist

'A riveting account of loneliness, anxiety and survival' - Cosmopolitan

'A vibrantly physical book' - the Guardian
All stars
Most relevant
Loved this book: engaging, beautifully woven together, memory seamlessly interlaced with unfolding events, and refreshingly down to earth. I’ll probably listen again.

Loved loved LOVED

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I couldn’t stop listening to this gripping story. Claire’s writing is beautiful and her strength and courage are phenomenal. Highly recommended.

Engrossing

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A gripping memoir that dives into the depths of resilience and acceptance of self. Nelson's raw and honest account of surviving a life-threatening fall while hiking alone in the wilderness is utterly captivating. Her journey from recognising her desperate situation to her survival is both harrowing and inspiring, painting a vivid picture of human endurance and the strength found in vulnerability. Nelson's book is an ode to the human spirit, earning its well-deserved five-star rating for its compelling narrative and powerful message of courage, insight and gratitude.

The story consumed me

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I love survival stories and stories set in the desert so when I heard about Claire's ordeal a year or so ago I was fascinated.
So how great to find she'd written a book about it. It totally delivers on taking you into the experience and details of what it took to survive. and to face the reality that she might not. And the other story, the one about escaping from the "not worth doing until it's on instagram" world, is very relevant and rings very true.
And I liked that it didn't end soon after the euphoria of the rescue, like a Hollywood movie, but carried on into the honest reality of what's involved in a long recovery, physically and emotionally. It wouldn't have been the whole story without that.
Really well written, not a clunky or mind-wandering moment in the whole book.
In fact it was quite surreal at times to go from being totally immersed in a canyon in Joshua Tree at night, with only bats and mice for company - to taking out the earbuds and finding myself walking through empty streets in a world in lockdown, which I'd totally forgotten about for a couple of hours.
Thanks Claire for surviving and for giving us such a great book out of it.

Great Lockdown Listen

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Loved the authors story and narration. So easy to relate to as a person. So engaging. I listened to this book in a week and only because I had to work, or it would have taken me a lot less.

Gripping

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