Not by Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life
by Samantha Dunn
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Book Summary Information
Author: Samantha DunnEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-03-05
ISBN: 0805065857
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Book Reviews of Not by Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life
Book Review: Inspiring first hand account of recovering from an accident
Summary: 5 Stars
In an isolated part of California, Samantha Dunn was leading her horse Harley across a creek when her steed accidentally stomped on her leg. The injury was severe enough to threaten her life as she suffered splintered bones, ripped muscles and torn veins. Samantha's luck changed when a passerby happened to find her. While physically recuperating and going through various mental stages of recovery, Samantha reflected back on her three-decade plus life. She concludes that her long string of accidents are not really bad luck misfortunes, but something with much deeper underlying causes that make her ignore signs of potential trouble like her panic stricken horse that stepped on her. Eventually Samantha not only gets back on Harley, but she picks herself up personally as she now knows she is a good person with much too offer.
NOT BY ACCIDENT: RECONSTRUCTING A CARELESS LIFE is a great first hand account of recovering from a near-fatal accident that inspires the audience. Samantha Dunn learns that riding horses for pleasure is a lot different than riding to escape life. She concludes that life is too precious to carelessly destroy it. As Lou Costello once said "97% of all accidents occur to 3% of the people". Ms. Dunn encourages those 3% frequent accident victims to reflect on why this happens and how to live life fully, but not negligently. Besides animal lovers and repeat accident victims, readers who enjoy an uplifting didactic account will want to peruse this introspective nonfiction.
Harriet Klausner
Summary of Not by Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life
"God touches us with a feather to get our attention. Then, if we don't listen, he starts throwing bricks."
While leading her horse across a narrow creek in the canyons of California, Samantha Dunn suffered a life-threatening accident as her horse inadvertently jumped on her leg, splitting it open and severing vital muscles and veins. Had a stranger not happened upon the scene, it's doubtful she would have survived.
This wasn't the first such incident-although it was the most serious-in a life filled with carelessness, risk-taking, and injuries. In this reflective yet humorous memoir, Dunn takes the reader through the stages of her long and painful recovery, the most important of which involved serious self-examination. A pattern of accidents, she learned, indicates other deeper issues bubbling below the surface. This last, near-fatal episode was a subconscious wake-up call to pay attention to everything she had been looking away from: her horse, who had shown clear signs of panic, and especially her complicated past and home life-including her seriously troubled marriage.
Dunn got back on the horse-literally and figuratively. How she did it makes for an entertaining, touching, and insightful book, memoir at its best.
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