86: Grandad Wheels with Brian Abram

Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling

Brian Abram is 64 and lives in Halifax. In 2013 he survived a horrific cycling accident that left him paralysed and a full-time wheelchair user. After weeks in a coma and a year in hospital he returned home to a very different life.

He then wrote a silly story to amuse his grandson, who was just 6 months old when he had his accident. Encouraged by others, (including Quentin Blake who said, “It’s an impressive piece of work,”) he self-published his first book in 2019. Two years later there are now four books.

He now spends his time doing lots of school visits to raise awareness about disability and to show kids that being in a wheelchair, is no barrier to having fun.

Everything he makes is donated to charities that help people who have suffered a spinal injury like me. So far, he’s raised just over £28,000 for the Spinal Injuries Association and Back Up

Some key points from our interview:

· How he recognises that his body might have been broken physically inn his accident, but mentally he remains unbroken

· How his uses his positivity that he inherited from his mother and dark humour to help him

· How he met the woman who saved his life in the most extraordinary way

· How he first decided to write a children’s book for his grandson to explain why he was different to other Grandads

· How he’s now passionate about sharing his story in schools to raise awareness of life in a wheelchair and more importantly the fun he can still have

“Nothing is forever; be patient” – Brian Abram

You can get more info about Brian and his books here:

www.grandadwheels.com

You can read his personal blog here:

www.thestrifeofbrian.com
Hosted by Madeleine Black, the show will share stories of all the amazing people Madeleine has met on her own journey as an author/speaker and these stories will heal, motivate, inspire and bring hope when they share their wisdom and knowledge with her.
She really believes in the power that comes when we share our stories, that in fact we are not story tellers but story healers. Tune in to discover what helped them to stay unbroken and together we will discover that none of us are broken beyond repair.
You can find out more about Madeleine, her story and her memoir, Unbroken, from her website: https://madeleineblack.co.uk/
Watch edited highlights on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/MadeleineBlackUnbroken

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