Rethinking Possible

Becky Galli was born into a family that valued the power of having a plan. With a pastor father and a stay-at-home mother, her 1960s southern upbringing was bucolic—even enviable. But when her brother, only seventeen, died in a waterskiing accident, the slow unraveling of her perfect family began.

Though grief overwhelmed the family, twenty-year-old Galli forged forward with her plans for the future—marriage, career, and raising a family of her own—one she hoped would be as idyllic as the family she remembered from her childhood.

But life instead presented her with situation after situation that derailed her: her son’s degenerative, undiagnosed disease and subsequent death; her daughter’s autism diagnosis; her separation; and then, nine days after the divorce was final, the onset of the transverse myelitis that would paralyze her from the waist down.

Despite these life-changing losses, Galli’s steadfast commitment to family has enabled her family life, far different from the one she planned, to be filled with creative love and acceptance. At once heartbreaking and inspiring, Rethinking Possible is a story of the power of love over loss and the choice we all have to shape our life circumstances—even when we’re forced to confront the unimaginable.

Author: Rebecca Faye Smith Galli

Publication Date: June 13, 2017

Categories: Memoir, Spring 2017

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About the Author

Description

2019 Chanticleer JOURNEY Book Awards Semi-Finalist in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir
2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist in Montaigne Medal
2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Inspirational
2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in New Fiction
2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Health: General

“In her poignant and courageous book, Galli pulls no punches. Rage, tears, frustrations, denial, and doubts spill from the pages through articulate, conversational prose. She shares the intimate complexities of her new reality—bathroom complications, the dangers of unfelt skin abrasions, and mysterious pains where there are no other sensations. Acceptance was slow in coming, but fierce determination lifts the narrative tone: ‘Life isn’t about what you’ve lost, but about what you’ve learned—and what you do with what you have left.’ A touchingly honest and thought-provoking account that focuses on resilience.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“You couldn’t tear me away from her memoir, and when my family members found out more about it, they looked at me like I was a sadist. What they didn’t get is Galli’s story is not just about tallying up tragedy, nor is it a pity party on paper, it’s an incredible story about her belief in family and what it is to love unconditionally. It’s inspiring because it’s heartbreaking…The beauty of this memoir is how we get to witness the author’s healing and recovery — all in one book.”
–Book Club Babble “Best Books of 2017” (Maribel Garcia)

“With a wealth of compassion and insight, Becky Galli tells her memorable and inspiring story. She is nothing short of amazing and Rethinking Possible counts the many ways this is true.”
–Jill McCorkle, Author of New York Times bestseller Life After Life

About the Author

Rebecca Faye Smith Galli (Becky) is a reluctant-but-obsessed columnist who writes about love, loss, and healing. Surviving significant losses—her seventeen-year-old brother’s death; her son’s degenerative disease and subsequent death; her daughter’s autism; her divorce; and nine days later, her paralysis from transverse myelitis, a rare spinal cord inflammation that began as the flu—has fostered an unexpected but prolific writing career. In 2000, The Baltimore Sun published her first column about playing soccer with her son—from the wheelchair. Fifteen years later, with 400 published columns and a completed memoir, she launched, Thoughtful Thursdays—Lessons from a Resilient Heart, a weekly column for her subscriber family that shares what’s inspired her to stay positive. She also periodically contributes to The Baltimore Sun’s Op-Ed page, Midlife Boulevard, Nanahood, and The Mighty. Join her Thoughtful Thursdays family at www.beckygalli.com/signup.