One Unknown: A powerful account of survival and one woman's inspirational journey to a new life

by Gill Hicks (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $3.75

  This is an incredibly moving account of tragedy and its aftermath, as told by Gill Hicks, survivor of the London bombings in July 2005. Gill was the last person to be pulled alive from the wreckage of the tube train at Russell Square underground station. Unidentifiable on arrival in hospital, having sustained horrific injuries which led to both of her legs being amputated, Gill was labelled as `One Unknown' on her wristband and life hung in the balance for several days. She was saved by the dedication of the medical staff treating her, and by her own single-minded will to survive.

  This is, quite simply, a wonderful book. It is humbling, uplifting, funny and deeply moving, and it contains a message of great, yet quiet power. Gill writes with honesty, humour and courage. One Unknown is a call to us all to strive for a more tolerant and peaceful world.

  This paperback edition contains a new foreword - three years after the bombings happened, plus a new chapter written by Gill's husband, giving his account of the events of the past three years.

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $3.24

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $3.24

  Gill Hicks was on her way to work on a Piccadilly line tube train on 7 July 2005 when a terrorist bomb exploded in the carriage in which she was travelling. Amazingly, and against all the odds, she survived the blast, but due to the injuries she sustained her legs had to be amputated.

  In this moving memoir Gill recounts the events of that day, from facing the very real prospect that she might die and her subsequent fight to live, to later coming to terms with losing her legs and living life as a disabled person. The book includes excerpts from the diary she wrote during her rehabilitation, an account of her wedding day in December 2005, and traces the journey of her extraordinary recovery.

  Having survived this life-shattering experience, Gill asks important questions about how we set our priorities and the way we live our lives. She motivates readers to `seize the day' and live life to the full while striving for a better, more tolerant world. Her powerful message has a broader audience than most `ordinary' motivational books because of the experience out of which it was borne. This moving account is told with great integrity and honesty, and Gill's lack of self pity and keen sense of humour lighten the tone and make this book very special indeed.