After the Crash : The Heart-Rending True Story of How One Man's Love for His Son Saved Both Their Lives

A young couple, Martin and Sasha, fell in love in a remote corner of the Italian Alps. They married, embarked on glittering careers and had a charming, precocious son named Lio. Then, one morning, as Sasha was driving to work via Lio's nursery, a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into them. Sasha was killed instantly and Lio suffered multiple skull fractures and a terribly shattered leg. After the Crashcharts Lio's recovery from brain damage so severe he wasn't expected to walk, talk or even breathe unaided ever again. It tells how this incredibly strong and tenacious four year old pulled himself back from the edge of death and the loss of his mother to create for himself not just a 'normal' childhood but an exceptional one. It follows Martin's battles against dire prognoses for his son, negative expectations, entrenched medical bureaucracies, monstrous insurance companies and profound grief, all in an effort to heal his little boy. Through staying focused on a vision of his son's bright future, and by remaining steadfastly positive in the face of professionals who thought they new better, Martin found real meaning and a true purpose in life for the first time. After the Crashis much more than a personal story. It's a handbook for dealing with disaster, not just surviving it but mastering it and using it to transform your life and your heart for the better.

Martin Spinelli's innovative radio features and his series LINEbreak and Radio Radio have been heard on BBC Radio, as well as on stations around the world.