*** I have received and read an e – ARC from netgalley exchange for honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

Nothing new here- woman goes on a hike, doesn’t tell anyone that’s she’s going, bad things happen, she survived.

The things that stick out are what irritate me the most.
-I didn’t feel emotionally connected with Nelson, to the point where I almost gave up reading the book.
-way too irritatingly similar to Aron Ralston’s story, to the point where I wondered if there might be some light (unknowing) plagiarism
-poorly written for someone who is a professional writer

Overall, the book was long and repetitive, and I actually enjoyed the news articles about her situation more than I did reading this book.

What could there be to entice a young woman to set out on a hike in an area where she has never been without letting someone know where she is headed? What did she find inside herself when she fell, broke her pelvis, and might possibly be spending her last days alone, in a desert, without food and water, with only her thoughts to accompany her? Read along on a discovery of self, of human strength, of thought-provoking dreams, overcoming weaknesses, and coming away a new person in many aspects.

A beautifully written. strikingly engaging, story of one woman overcoming thoughts that could be paralyzing and deadly to discover strengths buried deep within.

Claire Nelson found herself critically injured and hidden from view after a fall while hiking in Joshua Tree National Park, California. This is the story of how she survived.

Claire tells a gripping tale her life before the accident, the grueling four days she spent alone in the desert, unable to move, and her ultimate rescue and survival. It is a great read that I could not put down. I would recommend this to anyone interested in tales of harrowing, death-defying experiences.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary.

This is the true story of a writer and editor who has roamed far from her native New Zealand to find herself. She describes her experiences in London and other capitals, making friends, chasing stories, and trying to figure out why she isolates from other people. She loves the outdoors, especially hiking, and goes to California to visit friends and hike in Joshua Tree National Park. Her friends are heading out of town so Claire heads to the trail by herself with what she thinks is sufficient equipment, water, and snacks for a one-day hike. She misses a crucial signpost, ends up at a stone wall, and, believing the trail lies on the other side, attempts to climb over. Her fall into a deep crevice is the turning point of the book. She is seriously injured, unable to climb out or even move due to a shattered pelvis, and is trapped for three nights and four days. The core of the story is how she survived until a rescuer spots her from a helicopter when she is almost resigned to dying, the emotional and physical experiences of recovering over a period of months, and the repairing and appreciation of relationships she hadn't fully nurtured. This is not on a par with Wild or some stories of Everest climbers who encounter disaster, but Nelson is a seasoned writer and her expression of emotions and the gaining of insight is beautiful.

Things I Learned From Falling tells the true story of the author’s hiking accident in Joshua Tree National Park in 2018. Nelson weaves the story of the accident and its aftermath with stories of her past, illustrating the lessons she learned from her fall.

Nelson’s account is introspective and honest. I love that she doesn’t shy away from the nitty-gritty details of mental illness, physical injuries, and logistics of surviving in a terrible situation. I found myself amazed by her determination to survive seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Her descriptions made it easy for me to put myself in her shoes and imagine how I would act in a similar situation.

Overall, I felt this book was very well written and nicely woven together. I especially loved that the book includes safety tips for hikers. I hope the published version will also include photos!

An incredible book on the fragility of life, the importance of always being present, and the silver lining of hope. Tomorrow isn't promised and what I took away from Nelson's incredible story is how important it is to treasure the gift of today.

I crave reading about people who get themselves into the most awful predicaments and how they survive. Claire hiked in a national park and fell off rocks, shattering her pelvis. I cringed every time I read how her bones would grind and clunk against each other. I was impressed with her ingenuity with the supplies,she did have. She was also very very lucky to be found. It’s a memoir of self reflection as well. Important lessons can be gleaned from reading her experience, not just for hikers, but for anyone.

Claire Nelson has a great job and a, seemingly, great life. What isn’t seen is the stress, anxiety, and depression underneath. To try to deal with this she embraces the beauty and solitude of nature. One day while hiking in Joshua Tree that solitude becomes tragedy when she falls 30ft and shatters her pelvis. Alone for days and not knowing if she’ll be found, she has no choice, really, but to face what brought her to this place.

This is a lovely story of survival and self-evaluation. It is at once heavy and uplifting. Nelson does a wonderful job of bringing the reader with her through the whole traumatic event with her and letting us in on everything that she thought and felt while she was lying there. This was a well written memoir with a wonderful message.

Despite her dream job in her dream city, author Claire Nelson struggled with self-doubt and loneliness, which led her to seek out the calm clarity of nature through hiking. In Things I Learned from Falling, Nelson recounts the fateful day that she set out on a solo hike in Joshua Tree and ended up falling off a boulder, totally hidden, unable to move, and with no way to call for help.
Luckily, Nelson survived to tell her story with a renewed sense of strength, an acceptance of her own vulnerability as a human, and the realization that while she had been afraid of failing, she really should only have been afraid of falling.
While this wasn't the most enthralling memoir I've ever read, it was an uplifting story of survival and the new, "it's all downhill from here" perspective that can come with facing death.

A remarkable story of strength, resilience, and hope. Amazing. I enjoyed the story's structure too and how it flash backed to life in England. I found Claire's lessons to be so powerful. I especially enjoyed reading about her perspective on gratitude - it is so true. We all have so much to be thankful for.

Wow. I don't even know how to put it into words. This book is a must read for so many reasons. This is an amazing and inspiring story of survival, but it is so very much more than that. To start I would say that anyone who piddles away minutes, hours, days, years of their life by clicking on internet links, hoping their posts are "liked", scrolling facebook, instagram, twitter..... should read this book and really, really think about what you read here. When you're at your end you won't be pondering likes or remembering your facebook friends. Put your phone, ipad, laptop down and focus on who you're with and the real world that's around you. Jeez, get a life.
I was also moved about Claire's lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression. She could have been describing me. I'm sure many others will see themselves in these pages too. The strong one who goes to work, smiles all day, looks strong and together and all the while she is screaming inside.
Then there is the amazing tale of survival. I don't want to give anything away there. She tells us everything and it's horrific, but there are little moments of beauty in there too. All told, this is a beautiful book that everyone should read. I'm so glad that Claire lived to tell her story. #netgalley #ThingsILearnedFromFalling

As a traveler and fan of memoir, I was drawn to this book (the stunning cover helped too). It didn't disappoint. Nelson's writing was amazing - I loved the contrast of beauty of Joshua Tree and her gut-wrenching story.
What appealed to me most was her humor and the relatable pictures she painted.
A couple examples that made me laugh out loud: "I may have been sleep-deprived, mildly concussed and looked like I fell face-first into a cat, but I couldn't see any reason why we shouldn't still go."
"Rather than owning up my place as an experienced woman in media who deserved to be there, I felt riddled with self-doubt, as if I was actually two Labradors in a trenchcoat and sooner or later everyone would realize."
She is a survivor and incredibly impressive.

I wanted to like the book but that wasn’t the case. Travel writing is in general not well written and this is no exception. My takeaway was
that the real story is an exploration of clinical depression and the pitfalls of making it into a story loop. I did enjoy the chapters based in London
and it’s brave to express the disconnect of a life that seems outwardly interesting. Claire’s mother and her actions were inspiring. I am not sure if it is a different cultural perspective at least
in the US single women compete, do it all and after a certain age engender not much support from others unless moneyed. We all are part
of a bigger picture and sociogram. Raising smart independent resilient women is a good thing in any case.

I love biographies. I really love well-written autobiographies. This is well-written, which is expected from someone who works as a writer in the field of journalism. Nelson's personal strength jumps off the page in stark contrast to the self-doubts so many of us feel, including Nelson. To confront face-to-face the "impostor syndrome" in such an extreme situation provides the lucky readers with an innocuous way to encounter their own feelings with having to drink their own urine.

There was only one section, midway through the story, that felt heavy and arduous to push through. The congruity is that this section described the depression that precipitated Nelson's self-exploration and eventual trek to the desert.

The part I personally related to the most was the thing that Nelson repeatedly said was the thing that made her the happiest, that was what she fought to live for - talking nonsense with friends. I cherish that, too, and can see why that was the thing worth holding onto hope for. It embodies belonging.

A book of human bravery of an accident of recovery.The author tells us her raw frightening story of survival.A book that had me breathless as the author shares her tense scary story,#netgalley#harperone