At age twenty-nine, Linda Olson, M.D. FACR was vacationing with her husband in Germany when their van was hit by a train, shattering their lives as well as her body. “I didn’t marry your arms or your legs. If you can do it, I can do it,” was the first thing her husband said to her in the hospital after she woke up as a triple amputee in 1979.
In her courageous new release GONE: A Memoir of Love, Body, and Taking Back My Life (on sale October 27, She Writes Press), Olson shares the inspiring true story about how she learned to walk with prostheses, change diapers and insert IVs with one hand. Despite challenges, Olson pursued an illustrious thirty-year career as an award-winning Professor of Radiology at UCSD and raised two children to canoe, backpack, kayak and travel in remote places. One of Parade magazine’s best memoirs of 2020, GONE is part medical-survivor memoir, part marriage guide and parenting confessional, and part travel blog, asking readers to find not only courage but also laughter in the unexpected adversities we all face. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2015, Olson is now a motivational speaker committed to empowering patients and families to live life as full as possible via her “Get Out and Go” message. Would you be interested in having Linda Olson on the show this October? Some suggested talking points/questions below my signature!
“Olson’s riveting narrative is about love and devotion as much as it is about attitude and tenacity… Inspirational, gripping, and a testament to positive thinking.” ―Kirkus Reviews
"Certain to provide a new perspective to the obstacles faced in one’s own life, Gone is a consistently engaging account of one woman’s efforts to achieve the impossible. A worthy addition to anyone’s list of amazing memoirs. I can recommend it highly for anyone who needs a lesson in the power of positive thinking.” ―Readers Lane
