Worth Fighting For

by Dana Vulin

In the early hours of a February morning in 2012, Dana Vulin was the victim of a hideous, unprovoked attack. A woman who’d been stalking and harassing her for weeks – incorrectly and baselessly thinking Dana was having an affair with her estranged husband – burst into her apartment, doused her with methylated spirits and set her alight. Dana’s fight began that day. She had to fight for survival, to battle against the third-degree burns that had consumed her body. She had to fight to regain her identity, being the faceless "girl behind the mask" for years and with her scars rendering her almost unrecognizable. And she had to fight for justice, to see her attacker convicted and sentenced for this gruesome crime. Despite the damage that the fire caused, Dana’s spirit and sheer determination were not and cannot be destroyed. Showing that she is stronger than hate, stronger than fear, she has fought blood, tears and unimaginable pain to be where she is today. And now she wants to pass on to others the thing that sustained her through her darkest hours: hope. Worth Fighting For is a powerful and moving story of this amazing woman’s battle for survival against unbelievable evil and pain.

Genres: Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Zuleeza · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...I had like a 50 cent-size burn and I already complained that it hurt like a little bitch.

Hats off to Dana for being so brave and determined. I thought I knew enough about burns (having a medical student as my best friend, attended first aid course, had burns a few myself, being a biomedical science student). Nope. I clearly underestimated how damaging and life-threatening a burn can be.

Dear Lord, I still don't get how someone could do this to another human being and do not display remorse.

Anyway, Dana's writing isn't stellar or anything but I liked how honest and straight to the point she is. Not pretentious, not boastful at all.

[Adrianne Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gutsy woman! This book was a great read as it allowed me to gain an insight into overcoming adversity from a woman who like all of us wants to be the best version of herself and put her best foot forward. Dana is very courageous, a compelling read.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it's like a 2.9 for me. It was okay all the way through, but her fighting spirit JUST pushed it in to the "liked it" category. I really respect her courage and fight to get well again, it's just that as a book it's not written the greatest. That's no fault of her own, she's not an author and it's a biography. The language is insanely simple. There are things I loved... I loved the way her mom cares for her and it really highlights family ties and the power of pressing ahead. I love that she's devoted her life to awareness. I love that she's strong and it authentically herself, cuss words and all. But, another issue I have is with the language. I am always on the lookout for true stories where women endure emotional or physical trauma so I can do outreach and teaching on healing for young teen girls on their own journeys towards wellness. BUT the language in this book it so sprinkled with cusses and crassness that this book wouldn't be appropriate for reading alongside a teen.

"I realized that if I didn't really go at my recovery like a crazy person and work my titties off then I would be defined by my burns." P127
"I'm not a dickhead, Dale," I reassured him (her physiotherapist.) I know how to read a research report." P 207
"I'm pretty sure the hospital staff were avoiding us.. when the burns team saw us coming in they would run and hide, like, "These bitches again?"
"She was like, are you fucking kidding me world?"
"I still have exactly zero fucks to give."

All the power to her for being strong and expressive, it's just I was hoping for something a little more eloquent and inspirational for young people.

I'm glad it had a happy ending where justice was served. She looks beautiful and has come so far and should be proud. But judging it as a book, it has a ways to go. All the respect to her though!

[Erin Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband bought me this book for my birthday. It’s a book is full of emotions. I was proud and scared, sad and hopeful all at the same time. I remember hearing about Dana in the news and was intrigued to read her story. It took me a while to read this book. Unsure why, maybe being my first autobiography and knowing that it was actually real life and that someone could be so cruel. Dana shares her deepest and darkest moments with us and I honestly can not find the words on how this book made me feel other than it made me cry a lot and at times made the pit of my tummy ache. It also made me treasure who I have close to me and gave me all the feels about how valuable family and friends can truly be.

[craig hurdle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read

I gave ìt a 5 star i could not put it down
A true strong woman that got badly burnt by a drug crazed woman
Dana was burnt by methylated spirits poured over her in a rage of love crazed stupid woman who laughed and left her to die
There was a court case that found the woman guilty of attempted murder in order to cause harm to a person
Dana was a smart woman who had to live in a pressure suit for three years while she recovered from burns to 64% of her body she never gave up
There was a another trial to get the sentence shortened the magistrate threw out the case for the woman who had burnt Dana she received an 18 year sentence
I admired Dana her courage and determination to survive and keep going, love you Dana Vulin.

[Karen Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing read. To read what a horrific journey this woman went through was mind blowing. Her determination and thought processes compelled me to read on, never wanting to put the book down. The bravery of Dana Vulin was unbelievable. She says it as it is and my heart went out to her for what she’d experienced when this violent attack happened to her. But the way she handles everything was definitely something we can all take on board. She gives hope to others along with a shot of advice on how not to let things take you over - you have everything to fight for! She writes it as though she’s talking to you which makes it so good to read.
A must read!

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true fight for survival. I admire Dana’s strength and courage. She keeps the story mostly on track for the first few chapters and gets you caught up on the lead up to the fire, the fire, the aftermath of the fire and then the trial.
However she doesn’t go into to much depth of the spiral of emotions besides the fighting spirit she has. We read alot about how strong she definitely is but not much else, mostly she says that she was sad but I feel that there was so much more going on there.
The last few chapters she kinda gets on her soap box a bit but again feel that she was holding back some real and true thoughts and emotions.

[Kel (BrassBooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t going to review this book, but I keep thinking about it so here we are.
Dana’s story is one that defies belief. It really is. She is courageous and strong willed. To take her awful experience and turn it into something to help others is amazing.
But I keep thinking about how she spoke about antidepressants and how harmful her words could be. I don’t think she meant it in a hurtful way, but I can’t help but feel she has very little understanding about how they work etc.
I just felt like her story would have had the exact same impact if she’d left those few statements out. Instead, she (unintentionally, I’m sure) will have no doubt made many depression sufferers feel shamed by taking antidepressants. Myself included.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring

Dana Vulin is one hundred percent a survivor not a victim, she fought for everything she now has including her every single range of motion.

After all this she is still the kindest motivated person I wish nothing but good things Dana.

Thank you for sharing your journey

[Janet Adcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana Vulin is a truly remarkable, courageous woman! This book was a compelling read.
Dana never gave up in her long road of recovery, which was fraught with many difficulties. It was amazing that her strength of spirit was such that she harboured no bitterness towards her attacker.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Dana's story.
There were times when I wanted to ask questions and occasionally I felt details needed further clarification.
Having previously heard Dana on a podcast, I would love to see her speak live. She is a force to be reckoned with!

[katie cruse · Rating 5 out of 5]

inspirational

Proves how the power of a strong mind can overcome horrific circumstances. Dana has turned her life around and made it her mission to help others. Truly inspirational!

[Silpa Kohler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible story with great pace.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. An amazing and inspiring story of the bravery and determination of Dana Vulin. I read the whole thing in two days.

[Christina Maisano · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this more as it is a very tragic story. It was easy to read. But there was something lacking I'm not sure what.

[Vicki Blood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extraordinary story of an extraordinary woman who fought so hard both mentally and physically to overcome the worst adversity forced onto her. What a remarkable, strong willed, determined woman.

[Sheree Hailes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read her story is inspirational

[sharlene Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

It was a great book
Shows you that there always a person worse of than you
Very inspirational women that should be proud of herself

[Madyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, very inspiring and easy read! Anyone suffering should read this!

[Shannon Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dana is a true warrior. So inspiring.

[Josh Sinnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the feels

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dana is a survivor of an unprovoked attack back in 2012, by a woman who was stalking her and harassing her for weeks, because she believed Dana to be having an affair with her estranged husband.
Her assailant broke into her apartment, doused her with methylated spirits, set her alight and ran away.
This is Dana’s story of survival, recovery and fight to be Dana again.

It would amaze me if anybody that read this book wasn’t completely moved by it.
She is a survivor of an attack she did not deserve, and endured the most gruelling recovery process that anybody could go through.
She was able to fight her way through everything with the love and strength for both herself and her family, and proved to be what saved her. I completely admire this woman.

I read it in two sittings, and I recommend this book to everybody.

[Julia Kafle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good account of what happened. Kept up the pace so helped me stay interested in finding out what happened next. I would however, have thought there'd be some guidelines about the best way to handle threatening calls, at what point do you notify the police? Dana didn't call the police from the start; she questioned what could the police do? The book doesn't have links to government agencies that can help with victims of this type of abuse & assault - helplines for example (Lifeline / Beyond Blue), that i was expecting at the end of the book.

[Renee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dana Vulin showed amazing courage and perseverance to get where she is today, after such a horrific trauma at the hands of a disturbed woman. Simple read that will show you how the human spirit can overcome the largest obstacles in life!

[Clinton Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! That’s one way to stare down adversity. An inspiring and courageous voice to a crazy event I still can’t get my head around. How something like this happens to begin with is insane. How Dana responds to it though is remarkable

[Ranjana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A true story and autobiography of a victim suffering a violent crime and its aftermath