CATCH ME IF I FALL by Nikki Rodwell @NikkiRodwell

 5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: The author is a friend of my sister, who I got to know when she joined Twitter.

In a Nutshell: Personal story of psychosis and spine injury

I bought this memoir because I've got to know Nikki on Twitter and wanted to support her, and also because I wanted to read about how she recovered from a devastating spinal cord injury. I expected to find it moderately interesting, but it's riveting, from start to finish.  It's written in such a chatty, engaging way; Nikki definitely has plenty of storytelling talent.  I couldn't stop turning those pages.

I did not realise until I began the book that Nikki has a severe mental health problem - and no, I don't mean the sort that is claimed in many a social media post every time someone has a bit of a bad day or feels a bit anxious.  She suffers from psychosis, something I knew very little about.  Her account of the incident that culminated in her spinal cord injury was harrowing to read about, though more shocking in a different way was the blow-by-blow account of her slow, painstaking recovery.

I'm fascinated by all things psychological, less so by the medical, but I was still gripped all the way through this.  It's written in a very 'warts and all' fashion - now and again it was a bit 'TMI', but my goodness, I take my hat off to anyone who has been through an ordeal like Nikki's and come out smiling.  At the same time, I wondered if she realised how much she has told the reader about herself; for instance, she talks about her daughters frequently not speaking to each other or not speaking to her, as if this is something quite every-day, and, although she talks a little about her relationship with her father, I wondered if she sees how much it has influenced the rest of her life.

There was just one thing missing - pictures!  Nikki talks a lot about the photos she posted on Facebook, throughout, and it would have been so great to see them in the book.  However, if you look here on her blog, there are many posts under 'Hospital 2019' that show some of them, or you can sign up to her newsletter to see them (link in book), and also the video of her learning to walk again.

I so admire Nikki's guts in getting through this life-changing period, whilst turning negatives into positives and using the experience to re-evaluate her life.  I think it should be read by anyone who is going through a long recovery of this type or suffers from psychosis and the stigma attached to severe psychological problems; I hate to use the ghastly buzzword 'inspirational', but it really is.  I highly recommend it anyway, even if you don't think a medical memoir will be your sort of thing.  You won't be able to put it down either, I guarantee!