The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid

From Goodreads

On Good Friday, 2010 Melanie Reid fell from her horse, breaking her neck and fracturing her lower back. She was 52.

Paralysed from the top of her chest down, she was to spend almost a full year in hospital, determinedly working towards gaining as much movement in her limbs as possible, and learning to navigate her way through a world that had previously been invisible to her.

As a journalist Melanie had always turned to words and now, on a spinal ward peopled by an extraordinary array of individuals who were similarly at sea, she decided that writing would be her life-line. The World I Fell Out Of is an account of that year, and of those that followed. It is the untold ‘back story’ behind Melanie’s award-winning ‘Spinal Column’ in The Times Magazine and a testament to ‘the art of getting on with it’.


Unflinchingly honest and beautifully observed, this is a memoir about the joy – and the risks – of riding horses, the complicated nature of heroism, the bonds of family and the comfort of strangers. 

Above all, The World I Fell Out Of is a reminder that at any moment the life we know can be turned upside down - and a plea to appreciating what we have while we have it.

My thoughts

I grabbed a copy of this from my local Library. As we are fast approaching Good Friday this year, it's quite a poignant time for me to have read this book. The other coincidence is that I am also 52, which is the age that Melanie was when she had the accident that was to change her life forever. It just goes to show that life can change in the blink of an eye and none of us can prepare for what might happen as the result of an accident.

I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10. This was an interesting insight into how life changed for Melanie following the accident and how she learned to cope as best she could with what had happened to her body, following the fall from her horse. None of us can prepare ourselves for life changing changes to our body, but it's how we deal with them that matters. 

It's not a book that I'd heard of and to be honest I don't read many non fiction books at all, but I'm glad that I read it. Melanie Reid tells her story with honesty and some humour. I enjoyed the read and would thoroughly recommend it to others.

Never take your life as it is NOW for granted, as it can change so quickly in the blink of an eye.