Emma Carey - The Girl Who Fell From The Sky: An extraordinary true story of resilience, courage, hope and finding lightness after the heaviest of landings

I love this womans outlook and her attitude. Shes formidable and indomitable, but in a totally sunny and loveable way.

TURIA PITT

Emma Carey is a powerhouse. This book will change a lot of perceptions about what you think its like to live with disability.

DYLAN ALCOTT

The accident honestly is the least interesting thing about Em Carey. The real story is the remarkable lens through which she views the world. I truly believe that the moment that changed her life could also change yours.

SAM MAC

Emma Carey has proven that, no matter what life throws her way, nothing can dim her fire.

Michelle & Zara, SHAMELESS

Emma Carey is an artist, speaker and aspiring writer from Canberra. After following her love for travel and adventure around the world, she found herself in Switzerland where an unexpected near-death experience completely altered her life. Following the turbulence and transformation of her accident, she has been on a mission to share her unique story to inspire and enhance the lives of those around her.

Writing has been a huge passion for Emma since she was young, and writing a book, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, has been a lifelong goal. After her accident, she started writing diary entries to document what she was experiencing and began sharing some snippets of those thoughts and musings on her Instagram page (@em_carey), where she now has loyal followers from around the world.

Emma now resides on the Gold Coast, where she moved to create a fresh life for herself, and she spends her days drawing, writing, swimming, spending time with her people and soaking up her second chance at life.

First published in 2022

Copyright Emma Carey 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

The poem Theories About The Universe was first published by Button Poetry in If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird in 2019, and it is quoted in full on page 98 by permission of the author and publisher.

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For anyone who has ever fallen from the sky of their life, these words are for you.

For the girl who was lying on the ground, hoping for it all to end, look at how good it got.

It started like this.

The deafening beats of the propellers matched the thundering of my heart. I felt electric as the ground shrank beneath us, snow-capped mountains disappearing into the landscapea patchwork of green, brown and white as the grey sky yawned open around me, large and endless. The town below looked like a dollhouse, and then an oil painting, as we rose.

Just as I thought we must almost be at the right altitude to jump, my instructor told me we hadnt even reached halfway. I startled at my own insignificance as the helicopter continued dizzyingly upwardsa similar feeling to when you look into the night sky and realise that youre looking into the past.

An anxiety that I hadnt been expecting caught in my throat, and the memory of my signature over a dotted line flashed back to mesuddenly the danger laid out in a black-and-white liability form felt somewhat plausible.

My hand entwined with Jemmas, I turned to my instructor. Eager for reassurance, I asked how many times he had jumped. The number was absolutely staggering, and I imagined that he had spent more time in midair than he had with his feet on the ground. This reassured me, along with his honest answer when I asked if anyone had ever been injured diving with him. He told me about a jumper who had broken their ankle on landing a couple of years ago, and his candour and warmth in the telling comforted me.

And then before I knew it, it was time. Fourteen thousand feet in the air, the door of the helicopter opened. As the wind rushed in, it felt as if all my senses were coming alive. This sensation was what Id been craving, this is what my life in all its daily monotony had been missing.

Jemma and I looked at each other, her fear obvious through the tears welling in her eyes. I felt a pang in my heart knowing that my love of adrenaline was the only reason she was here, but I gave her one last squeeze and let go of her hand. Strapped to my instructor, I turned towards the door and a new version of myself. For a moment we sat on the edge of the helicopter, legs dangling in the space between who I was and who I was about to become.

And then I was falling.

The instructor had launched us from the edge, throwing us into wide open nothingness. I remembered the instructions wed been given on the ground and moved my body into the correct positionand just like that, the world stopped. The sound of the helicopter, the sound of the air whooshing by, the sound of my screaming voiceit all became silent. I was flying.

I was enraptured by the picturesque ground below: the snowy alps, the winding rivers, the endless green farmlands. Again, that feeling of insignificance overwhelmed me and all the troubles Id left on the ground no longer mattered. This was where I was meant to be. Everything seemed so clear; an undeniable sense of peace in the chaos. It was like a nudge from the future whispering, Remember this feeling, this is what happiness feels like.

A tap on my shoulder pulled me from my epiphany. Wed been told the tap meant the parachute was about to be pulled. I crossed my arms over my chest and prepared myself for the jolt of the parachute slowing us down.

When it came, it felt like my hair was being ripped from my head and I was surprised at the painno one had warned me that it would hurt. I expected my instructor to say something, to give me a high-five like Id seen in videos online, but he didnt move, and as we continued to plummet a sudden terror ripped through me.

Why werent we slowing down? It had been hard to tell at first, because when youre that high up you barely notice the shift in the landscape as you fall towards it, but as you get closer suddenly you notice the drop of every footdetails on the ground below start blooming into clarity.

Then I saw it, the parachute. Red like a warning, it whipped before me in a tangled mess. It hadnt opened. I screamed at the instructor, desperate as an indescribable wave of panic consumed me. He didnt answer and I wondered if he was even attached to me anymore. I couldnt turn my head against the velocity of the wind, I could only watch as the earth seemed to come forwards to meet me. I knew we were about to crash, I knew thered been some kind of mistake, I knew we were only seconds away from impact, but I hadnt yet thought about what that meant. The gravity of the situation dawned on me as quickly as it was pulling me downI was about to die.