Matt Sanford's life and body were irrevocably changed at age 13 on a snowy lowa road. On that day, his family's car skidded off an overpass, killing Matt's father and sister and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair. His mother and brother escaped from the accident unharmed but were left to pick up the pieces of their decimated family. This pivotal event set Matt off on a lifelong journey, from his intensive care experiences at the Mayo Clinic to becoming a paralyzed yoga teacher and founder of a non-profit organization. Forced to explore what it truly means to live in a body, he emerges with an entirely new view of being a whole person."Waking" is a chronicle of that process. By turns agonizingly personal, philosophical, and heartbreakingly honest, this groundbreaking memoir takes the reader inside the body, heart, and mind of a boy whose world has been shattered. The author allows us to follow with him as he rebuilds from the ground up, searching for healing stories to help him reconnect his mind and his body. To do so, he must reject much of what traditional medicine tells him and instead turn to yoga as a centerpiece of his daily practice.The author finds not only a better life, but meaning and purpose in the mysterious distance that we all experience between mind and body. In searingly candid, frequently poetic language, Sanford pulls back the curtain on what it means to survive devastating trauma, from returning to a broken life to the uncertainty of finding sexual intimacy with a paralyzed body. But first and foremost the author offers a powerful message about the endurance of the human spirit, and of the body that houses it.

About the Author
MATTHEW SANFORD is the founder of the non-profit organization Mind Body Solutions. He specializes in adapting yoga to people living with disabilities and teaches workshops around the country. He currently resides in Orono, Minnesota.

Reviews
"Losing his father, his sister--and his legs--in a terrible car accident at the age of 13 did not stop Matthew Sanford from living his life . . . In Waking, he offers a powerful, honest account of his battle: awakening a spirit within a damaged body." -Psychology Today

"This is a riveting, heartbreaking, heart-opening saga. . . . Months after first reading it, I find myself appreciating his writing and the depth of his thinking more and more." -Nina Utne, Chair, Utne magazine

"His paralysis has taught him powerful lessons about consciousness . . . [Sanford] will truly dare readers to appreciate their own bodies and lives." -Yoga Journal

"From a hard-won understanding of how the body has intelligence and is an aspect of the soul, the author presents us with a new revitalizing vision of what it is to be human." -Susan Griffin, author of Woman and Nature



Book Information
ISBN 9781594868450
Author Matthew Sanford
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Rodale Press
Publisher Rodale Press
Weight(grams) 244g
Dimensions(mm) 212mm * 139mm * 18mm