Healing Ground - by Carly Hudson (Paperback)

About the Book

Healing Ground is the powerful memoir of Carly Hudson, a woman who defied the odds from the moment she survived a life-threatening battle with bacterial meningitis as an infant. Left with a traumatic brain injury and lifelong invisible disabilities, Carly was told by doctors that chronic pain, hearing loss, and movement disorders were incurable limitations in her life. Undeterred, she embarked on a relentless quest to heal, driven by a deep curiosity about the body and a desire to reclaim control over her health. Alongside her father, who was also navigating recovery from opioid addiction, Carly discovers the transformative power of unconventional healing, and, through Functional Neurology, she begins to experience profound recovery. As she confronts the challenges of becoming a doctor and a new mother, Carly learns to reconcile her past struggles with her new identity, ultimately finding hope, strength, and a deeper love for herself. Healing Ground is a poignant exploration of resilience, healing, and the courage to question medical norms, offering a beacon of hope for those suffering from chronic conditions and seeking their place of health.

Dr. Hudson paints a raw, compassionate portrait of how a life defined by illness can be transformed through resilience, curiosity, and the courage to question the status quo. Her memoir is not just a personal account of healing but a broader exploration of what it means to challenge conventional wisdom, take charge of your health, and seek answers in places others might not look.

Book Synopsis

After a childhood of compensating for a laundry list of invisible disabilities, Carly Hudson finds herself at the precipice of suicidal depression and a choice to make about her future and her health. Upon pulling herself back from the edge of destruction, Carly finds herself fueled with a desire to continue on the path of wellness and to heal herself. This determined young woman at the brink of adulthood reckons with the opposing forces of chronic frustration within her own body and the possibility of learning her way to wellness with the loving support of family, friends, doctors, and healers.
Carly Hudson's life began with a heroic rescue from death's door. A case of bacterial meningitis threatened to suffocate and destroy her brain and spinal cord as an infant. Carly defied the odds and escaped with her life; but this near-fatal illness resulted in a traumatic brain injury and the physical, mental, and spiritual damage that snowballed year upon year. Though told repeatedly by the medical community that her debilitating ailments of hearing loss, movement disorders, chronic pain, and mental impairment were incurable limitations on her life, Carly became relentless in her quest to break the barriers set out for her life. The boundaries placed around her, ignited her curiosity to understand not just the body but the human condition.
Family values surrounding personal responsibility for one's health are the unexpected foundation of what is ultimately an intergenerational story and struggle. Carly is helped along the way by the unconventional support and wisdom of her father, who wrestles with his own recovery from opioid addiction; adding a spiritual and emotional depth to the body's recovery. In poignant, parallel journeys, Carly and her father experience both the trauma of relapse and the triumph of wisdom gained in the pursuit of well-being.
Amid a demanding doctoral program, Carly comes to terms with failing physical and cognitive control. Previously mild movement disorders take hold and leave half her body nearly unresponsive and useless in the tasks necessary to complete her training. As her brain struggles with the ever-present damage from her childhood illness Carly confronts the prospect of dashed dreams and a life out of her control. Requiring a leap of faith, Carly ultimately places all her hopes for recovery in the hands of one doctor trained in the little-known discipline of Functional Neurology.
Having found success in healing her mind and body, the now young doctor and new mother faces one more undertaking of recovery; learning to embody and recognize the person she has become. Reconciling old injuries against the new demands of motherhood, Carly dives once more into the work of healing. What emerges is a person so foreign and new, with hope and possibility that Carly ceases to recognize her own reflection. She must great herself as a stranger and learn to love herself more dearly than she ever had before.
Carly's story paints a nuanced and compassionate picture of how a life defined by disease and its debilitating aftermath becomes death by a thousand papercuts. And how that morbid existence can be transformed with the courage to question medical authority, the discipline to engage in rehabilitation, and a range of healthy practices, and the vulnerability to seek help from family, friends, and healers both traditional and unconventional. From her fraught infancy to her successful career and experience as a young mother, Carly brings the reader along on a journey to learn wellness and a personal reckoning of what makes life worth living.
Unheard blends Carly's story with short sidebars on clinical and historical matters-shining light on questions of "what is left when conventional wisdom is no longer deemed wise." Carly's vulnerable and provocative writing invites us all to ask what we are willing to do to find the key to our own happiness.

Review Quotes

"Hooray for Healing Ground! Carly Hudson's book isn't just a page-turner about one woman's harrowing yet hopeful journey to wellness, It's also an indictment of our pathology-obsessed healthcare system and a guide that can help us thrive as individuals and a human community."
Ed Frauenheim, co-author of Reinventing Masculinity: The Liberating Power of Compassion and Connection

"Dr. Carly Hudson has given us insight into mainstream medicine and the possibilities of self-advocacy to bypass medical idiocy and negligence. In this vibrant, justice-seeking autobiography, she exposes a pathogenic medical establishment that must be revealed."
Marianela Medrano, PhD--Author of Rooting

"An essential read for anyone looking to navigate life's challenges with authenticity and grace, providing a roadmap for embracing the fullness of our experiences and the wholeness of our being."
Kent Frazier CEO ParadoxEdge, Author of Love Fiercely: The Way of the Wood Dragon

"Dr. Carly Hudson's memoir, Healing Ground, is a powerful testament to overcoming chronic health challenges. Through determination and unconventional healing, her journey from debilitating ailments to a thriving life offers hope, strength, and insight.
A must-read for those seeking new paths to wellness."
- Susan Friedmann, CSP, international bestselling author of Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market