Grace Spence Green was a medical student when a man jumped from a height in a shopping centre and landed on her, causing a spinal cord injury that left her paralysed from the chest down.

In this conversation, Grace speaks openly about the moment her life changed, the long road through hospital and rehabilitation, and what it was like to suddenly become the patient after training to care for others.

We talk about the ideas behind her book To Exist As I Am, including radical acceptance, the difference between the medical and social models of disability, and how she rebuilt a sense of identity after injury. Grace shares how her lived experience now shapes her work as a doctor, what helped her feel at home in her wheelchair, and why she challenges the tired cultural narratives of tragedy or inspiration.

Connect with Grace

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracesg/?hl=en

Buy her book: https://www.waterstones.com/book/to-exist-as-i-am/grace-spence-green/

Connect with Peta Hooke
Instagram: @petahooke
Website: www.icantstandpodcast.com
Email: icantstandpodcast@gmail.com

Episode Transcript:
www.icantstandpodcast.com