When I Fell

1.6 seconds. Thats how long it takes to fall two stories. Thats how long it takes for life to change. When Michael Murphy was 21, he fell off a roof at college and landed flat on his back, severing his spine. They say that nobody understands their own traumatic injury just after it happensbut Michael did. Every person falls. They fall short in school, in life, in work, and in love. Their lives sometimes feel punctuated by those downfallsthe rejection letters, the unrequited love, the missed promotions, the life altering traumas. Everyone falls. But then what? When I Fell is a true tale of going from abled, to disabled, to empowered. It combines the story surrounding Michaels recovery with the science of resiliency and thrivingwhat psychologists are now calling Posttraumatic Growth (PTG)to teach readers how to hit home runs when life throws them curves. Befitting new mainstream acceptance for disabilities, When I Fell is as much a memoir as it is a message. It features the five principles established by Drs. Tedeschi and Calhounthe pioneers who coined the phrase in the 1990sfor scientific validation to bring PTG further into the public eye.