Louise Southerden - Surfs Up: The Girls Guide to Surfing

Six months ago, I had the worst wipeout of my life. I was surfing at a beach break five hours north of Sydney with my friend Jim when I misjudged the takeoff on a set wave and went down with the lip. I didn't hit the bottom, but I hit the water so hard that my head bent too far forward, pinching my spinal cord and paralyzing me from the neck down. I had one thought: This is it.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime underwater, I floated to the surface face up and started calling for help. All I could do was float on my back and wait for the waves to wash me onto the beach. But Jim had seen my wipeout, and within minutes he and two other surfers were sliding me onto his longboard and carrying me to the beach; from there I was airlifted to a local base hospital and then to Sydney. It turned out that I was supremely lucky that day; my spinal cord was only bruised, not broken. I spent two weeks in the spinal unit of a Sydney hospital, and three months after that, getting the feeling and movement back in my arms and legs.

It might seem strange to start a learn-to-surf book with such a story, but I'm telling it to inspire you, not to scare you, because I think surfing actually saved my life. After a lifetime of wipeouts, I didn't panic when I was underwater for so long. I didn't lose consciousness or swallow any water. I knew to stay calm, relax as much as I could, and trust that the ocean would release meand it did. Because I was relatively healthy and fit, my body healed itself quickly. Most important, being a surfer meant that I had the ocean for my rehabilitationI spent all summer floating and then swimming in the ocean, gradually swimming farther out past the breaking waves to where I felt most at home. I even repaired my wetsuit (it had been cut off my body when I arrived in hospital) as part of my therapy. Stitch by stitch, I hand-sewed my life back together. Being a surfer may not make you immune to life's down times, but it can give you skills to ride them out.

Now, as I've been working on this completely revised edition of Surfs Up, tailor-made for American surfer girls, I'm rediscovering my love of surfing. Last Saturday I tried out my new improved wetsuit for the first time at one of my favorite surf beaches. The waves were overhead but full because of the high tide, and three of my friends were surfing, so I decided to paddle out to sit out the back with them. It took me a while to find the right moment (and the courage) to get through the shorebreak, but as soon as I started paddling it was like I'd never been away. After six months, it was reassuring to know it was all still theremy love of the ocean environment, feeling at home sitting on my board in deep water with other surfers, my sense of where the waves were and where it was safe to sitand to feel a fresh appreciation for this incredible lifestyle we enjoy as surfers.