The World I Fell Out Of

‘Reading this will change you’ Andrew Marr

‘Searingly honest and frank … A very personal tale that makes you laugh and cry … captivating’ Telegraph

‘A generous, life-changing book … some of the most insightful writing on what it means to be human that I have ever read’ Clover Stroud, author of The Wild Other

‘She is perceptive — and lacerating — about the pressures felt by disabled people to be cured … Above all, the book is a plea to those still living with well-functioning bodies to be aware of what they have. To love themselves and relish their ability to dance, run, go to the lavatory without help. With serious disability can come wisdom and perspective, and Reid passionately urges fellow women to set aside their self-loathing and “get out there and live”’ Sunday Times

‘This is an astonishing and riveting book … It is horrifying, certainly, frightening in as much as it shows how we are all skating, as it were, on the thinnest of ice which may break at any moment, plunging us into the darkest and coldest of deep waters; but also encouraging because it is a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit – as well as to the care and expertise of our health service.’ Alan Massie, Scotsman

‘A vital, profound story shot through with insight and revelations. Melanie Reid has written the most important book of 2019’ Susanna Forrest, author of If Wishes Were Horses

‘Reid reveals with insight, candour and courage what it’s like to find yourself suddenly inhabiting a world that was previously unknown to you … a powerful, life-affirming memoir.’ Observer

‘Reid’s writing is excellent, beautifully paced and sometimes shockingly truthful. And my God, this woman is brave, not only for revealing all the gory details, but for questioning those tiresome platitudes about positivity. … Not a breath of fresh air, more of a hurricane.’ Kate Saunders, The Times

Melanie Reid was an award-winning columnist at The Herald in Glasgow before reporting and commentating for The Times from Scotland and then on the Comment pages. Having broken her neck and back in a riding accident in 2010, she writes her Spinal Column in The Times Magazine every week.

Andrew Marr is a former editor of the Independent and BBC Political Editor. He currently hosts BBC 1’s Andrew Marr Show, and presented Radio 4’s Start the Week from 2005 to 2012. His acclaimed television documentary series include Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain and Andrew Marr’s The Making of Modern Britain. He is also a hugely successful non-fiction author.