One Step At A Time: A Story of Survival

A promising representative cricketer, an accomplished student, ambitious and talented, Claire Anderson at 20 was facing the brightest future, with the best times of her life beckoning. But one night everything abruptly changed. Sexually assaulted by a friend after attending a party, Claire found her wide world narrowing to one of bleak despair, beset by hopelessness, and in the grip of a crippling depression. She was tormented by questions: ‘Was it my fault? Why is my attacker not accountable? What can I do to escape these memories?’
Five years later, still haunted by these questions and armed with a few packets of pills, she headed to a tranquil spot in search of a single, final answer: suicide. Saved by a phone call, this is the remarkable story of Claire’s journey back from that dark place to a point where she could accept the events of her past and, at last, herself. From a life-changing moment on an Outward Bound course, and through the rigours of training towards and completing an Ironman, Claire redefined herself as a strong, capable woman who not only has changed her own life, but who can now impact upon others’ lives as well, through sharing her story and through her sponsorship of Outward Bound candidates. Claire’s selfless, moving tale charts her course, from sadness to gladness, from despair to triumph.
This is the best kind of self-help book: the story of a woman who helped herself back from the brink, one small but rewarding step at a time.