Dare to Fly

London: Random House Australia, 1997. Used. Never Tell Me Never by Janine Shepherd'A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF ONE.'Bryce Courtenay on Never Tell Me Never by Janine Shepherd'THIS IS THE KIND OF COURAGE THAT SHOULD WIN A GOLD MEDAL FOR LIVING.'Bryce Courtenay on Dare to FlyIn 1994, Janine Shepherd published the first part of her autobiography, Never Tell Me Never. It became a smash hit, selling 13,000 copies in hard cover and 70,000 copies in C format paperback (so far). The success of the book introduced Janine to public speaking and she is now one of the most sought after speakers on the lucratuive speakers circuit, appearing two or three times a week to groups of up to 20,000 people and travelling all over Australia and to Bali and Hawaii.Never Tell Me Never is the story of Janine's amazing fight to survive an horrific accident. A superb athlete, she was training for the cross-country skiing in the 1988 Winter Olympics when the bike she was riding was hit by a truck. Her neck and back were broken in four places, her arm, foot and collarbone were broken, she had severe head injuries, internal bleeding and horrific, gravel-filled lacerations, and had lost an enormous amount of blood. She was airlifted to emergency surgery, where the doctors who examined her doubted she'd last the night. No one recovered from that kind of trauma.But Janine's entire life to this point had been geared towards fighting the impossible, ignoring her pain and pushing herself beyond normal reserves of strength and stamina. And she wanted to live. Her doctors were astounded by her determination and will to live, though they assured her that she'd never walk again. Janine chose not to listen to them. And while she was teaching her legs how to walk again, she learnt how to fly a plane, just so she could be in motion again. They also told her she'd never be able to have children. She and her husband have just had their third child.Since the publication of her extraordinary and inspiring story, Janine haas been inundated with letters and messages of support and thanks. People in circumstances similar to hers have been enormously buoyed by her spirit and courage. She has literally been bombarded with letters asking 'What happened next?', and every time she addresses groups, they can't find out enough about her life since Never Tell Me Never. Because she is such a warm and engaging person (as you would have seen at the conference last December), people feel as though they know her, as though she is their friend, so you can imagine how excited they will be to find out that the long awaited sequel to Never Tell Me Never is about to be published.Like The Strength in Us All, Sara Henderson's bestselling sequel to From Strength to Strength, Dare to Fly takes up where Never Tell Me Never ends, and follows Janine through the publication of her book,. the ensuing attention and tremendous support from all kinds of people, the birth of her first two children and her careers as a pilot and a public speaker. She focuses most intently on the people she meets who give her the strength to keep going - she is still in a lot of pain, is still having considerable corrective surgery, and is a partial paraplegic. If Never Tell Me Never was a celebration of one woman's resolve and sheer determination not to give in against overwhelming odds, Dare to Fly is about how people can help each other find the strength and commitment they need to follow their dreams. Janine now finds her strength in the letters and messages she gets from people who have been moved and inspired by her story in Never Tell Me Never; Dare to Fly will touch people in the same way, and inspire and comfort all who read it. Janine writes in the epilogue:I reread the letter with tears running down my face. I had struggled for so long, wondering whether the ordeal of writing was wor