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Crash: A memoir
220 pages, Paperback
Published April 9, 2026
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May 7, 2026
I grew up in Havelock North yet had never heard of the Woodford House bus crash that happened a few years before I was born, in which the driver, two teachers and two students died. Sally Wenley, then a sporty 16-year-old, suffered head injuries and became paraplegic as a result of the crash, and now writes her memoir of that incident and its impact on her life.
As you would expect for an award-winning journalist, it's a well-written and engaging account. Wenley doesn't come to the crash itself until late in the book, and it's clear it took courage to confront and write about what she remembers of the day that changed her life so drastically. You're left with the impression of an incredibly capable and resilient woman who was dealt a very difficult hand.
Would recommend to anyone who enjoys good memoirs, especially for its insights into trauma and physical & mental recovery. (And thank goodness we know more now than we did in the 1980s - the "stiff upper lip" mentality would have made recovery so much harder...!)
As you would expect for an award-winning journalist, it's a well-written and engaging account. Wenley doesn't come to the crash itself until late in the book, and it's clear it took courage to confront and write about what she remembers of the day that changed her life so drastically. You're left with the impression of an incredibly capable and resilient woman who was dealt a very difficult hand.
Would recommend to anyone who enjoys good memoirs, especially for its insights into trauma and physical & mental recovery. (And thank goodness we know more now than we did in the 1980s - the "stiff upper lip" mentality would have made recovery so much harder...!)
Displaying 1 of 1 review