Horrific car accidents, the Bali bombing, too many sausages … Sean Smith (a.k.a The Fat Paddler, a former rugby player) survived them all. This is one of those journeys that seems beyond belief, so we though it would be fitting for Sean himself to tell us about it:

The Fat Paddler’s Guide to Recovery, Adventure and The Importance of Family

When I reflect back on the journey that forms the basis for the book The Fat Paddler, even I find it incredulous. It seems shocking that one person could see such terrible events befall him one after another, and yet recover and go onto such incredible adventures after all the damage that he has sustained. However, this is my true story of suffering and subsequent recovery and adventures, and I can assure my readers that the events did in fact happen, as unbelievable as they sound.

The Fat Paddler recounts two major motor vehicle accidents which left me with significant crippling injuries, and the considerable mental trauma that living with such injuries causes. From the stark rooms of the ICU to the struggle of moving home with limited mobility, the story follows the slow and painful recovery that I struggled with whilst trying to remain stoic in the face of a growing personal mental crisis. Being caught up in the Bali Bombing added a new level of post traumatic stress that not only rocked the very core of my belief system, but left me feeling isolated, helpless, and in the end, taking away my very desire to live.

Throughout the dark days of these experiences however, I was able to find small glimmers of hope that helped me to keep going and eventually recover. By far the strongest of these was the love and beauty of my wife and children,  a triumvirate of true light that shone through the blackness of depression. When I had all but given up on living, they gave me a reason to keep going. And when my health started to collapse again in the years after my initial recovery, it was the love of my children and the realisation that they deserved to have a father to love and guide them whilst they grew up that gave me the final shove to get out and do something.

The book goes on to tell how I used kayaking to help rebuild my physical strength and health, through setting a goal to complete an 111km ultra-marathon. As the weeks progressed however, the recovery was far more mental than physical, as I re-engaged with the outdoors and fell in love with our planet and its wildlife. What follows is the creation of the “Fat Paddler” persona and a search for weekend adventures that side-tracks into an incredible journey to the Alaskan wilderness in the hunt for icebergs, before returning to Sydney to take on the difficult goal I’d set, the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic.

It is an interesting proposition to sit down and write your own memoir. Ego and self-image dictate that your memoir paint you as the perfect person, a person who has made all the right decisions with only fate itself the creator of misfortune. However, such a perfect caricature is only that, a two dimensional icon of the truth, and so you need to look deeply into yourself to first recognise and then explore your own faults. When I sat down to write The Fat Paddler, this was the ugly truth that I faced. To properly tell the story, I was going to have to expose my own imperfections, poor decisions and duplicity.

But it is this level of exposure that makes the story more real and personable. I’m far from perfect, and much of my demise has been through poor decisions I’ve made. I happily state my beliefs on important issues and then seemingly act opposite to what I’ve said. But it is this internal conflict that makes my story attractive to others, a story that could belong to anyone who sees imperfection in themselves.

In the end however I wanted a book that would show that every man, woman and child, regardless of circumstances, could find a way to enjoy the outdoors. Our planet is a remarkable thing and to ensure its future we need people to enjoy it, fall in love with it and find reasons to protect it. If they can do so whilst recovering from their own trauma, then better yet. And if you happen to see me out on the water having fun, make sure you paddle over and say hi.

Sean Smith, author of The Fat Paddler.

The Fat Paddler is now available from The Nile for $26.99.