Daz Longbottom was destined to surf. Born into a surfing family, living on the beach in Cronulla and with a surfboard manufacturing pioneer for a father, it didn’t take Daz long to discover that surfing feeling.

Following early successes in competitive surfing, Daz moved into the surf industry and eventually became the owner of a surf shop. He became a father and ran a successful business, which made life feel easy as he negotiated a path of pure happiness.

Then, in a split second, everything changed. While surfing a remote and idyllic location in Indonesia, fourteen hours by boat from the mainland, a freak accident resulted in a broken neck and instant paralysis. Alone in the water, Daz fought to stay alive until he was rescued by his friends. But that’s just the beginning. Reaching the safety of a hospital would become an epic, life-or-death ride no-one could have foreseen.

British author and journalist Tim Rushby-Smith was a lover of the great outdoors: a passionate mountain-biker, hiker and climber, and enthusiastic in the waves. In 2005, Tim fell from a tree while working as a tree surgeon and suffered a spinal cord injury that resulted in instant paraplegia.

His experience of injury and the return to normal life led him to write a memoir reflecting on his experience. Tim went on to write features for numerous newspapers and magazines around the world, as well as writing for the BBC. He served a six-month stint as a columnist for The Times in London, writing about life as a wheelchair dad.