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The Wounds That Bind Us
The improbable and powerful true story of a single mother with prosthetics for both legs who travels the globe with her young daughter in a Land Rover.
“A harrowing memoir. . . . Readers may not want to follow in [Shinn’s] footsteps, but they will never be bored with her as a companion.” — Kirkus Reviews
The Wounds That Bind Us is the improbable true story of Kelley Shinn, an orphan at birth who loses her legs at the age of sixteen to a rare bacterial pathogen. She becomes an avid off-road racer and, as a single mother, attempts to drive around the globe in a Land Rover with her three-year-old daughter in tow to bring light to the plight of land mine survivors. With unflinching honesty, exceptional lyricism, and biting humor, Shinn (“that’s two N s and no shins”) takes readers on a wild journey—literal and emotional—filled with striking characters and landscapes, heartbreaks, and hard-won insights, ultimately arriving at a place of profound redemption. Told with the energy and intensity of the adventure story it is, this terrifically rich and nuanced examination of a life is also a careful meditation on renewal—a remapping of the world. Guided by the narrator’s keen introspection and her ability to look resolutely at harrowing sorrows and still find hope, joy, and meaning, The Wounds That Bind Us will resonate deeply, long after the last page.
“A harrowing memoir. . . . Readers may not want to follow in [Shinn’s] footsteps, but they will never be bored with her as a companion.” — Kirkus Reviews
The Wounds That Bind Us is the improbable true story of Kelley Shinn, an orphan at birth who loses her legs at the age of sixteen to a rare bacterial pathogen. She becomes an avid off-road racer and, as a single mother, attempts to drive around the globe in a Land Rover with her three-year-old daughter in tow to bring light to the plight of land mine survivors. With unflinching honesty, exceptional lyricism, and biting humor, Shinn (“that’s two N s and no shins”) takes readers on a wild journey—literal and emotional—filled with striking characters and landscapes, heartbreaks, and hard-won insights, ultimately arriving at a place of profound redemption. Told with the energy and intensity of the adventure story it is, this terrifically rich and nuanced examination of a life is also a careful meditation on renewal—a remapping of the world. Guided by the narrator’s keen introspection and her ability to look resolutely at harrowing sorrows and still find hope, joy, and meaning, The Wounds That Bind Us will resonate deeply, long after the last page.
300 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2023
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97 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 16, 2023
First, let me tell you how I came to this memoir, then I’ll give a brief review. This will be a meandering discussion, but I assure you, I will get to the point eventually.
As someone whose salary is not robust enough to provide me with the opportunity to travel widely, Instagtram is my window on the world. I constantly use it to visit places vicariously. Want to go to an interesting place beyond your means? Hashtag the destination, and assuredly, someone has taken beautiful photos of it.
Several years ago, my family and I had driven down to the Outer Banks, and while we made it down to Hatteras for an afternoon, we’d run out of time to see what I was really interested in – Ocracoke Island. This storied island had been the base for Blackbeard, and I wanted to go, tread the same ground, breathe the same air, smell the same smells, and torture my children with a visit to yet another small, local museum or two. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Instagram was a cheap substitute and through my travels, I happened upon Kelley Shinn’s page. This must’ve been about four years ago, shortly before (?) or after Hurricane Dorian. I don’t remember the exact chronology of my interactions with Kelley perfectly, but what follows is the gist.
At the time, Kelley had been posting about how the hurricane had devastated her home. I was caught up in that, as it was an extremely difficult period – mostly due to the inadequate response by FEMA (if memory serves). The damage to her home was extensive, and then, I believe she posted something about a neighbor returning one of her legs that she’d lost after a swim.
“Wow,” I thought. “An amputee and her home was devastated by this hurricane. God, that sucks.” I continued to keep an eye on her page, and she and I would communicate with each other in her comment section occasionally.
The next shoe to drop, was that she mentioned to me that she had found her husband dead in their home. (I don’t know if this occurred before or after Dorian.) I thought, “Jesus. That’s so much to bear. Being a person with a disability, having your home practically destroyed by a hurricane, and losing a husband. That’s some extreme trauma to deal with.”
In future conversations, Kelley briefly mentioned that she’d taken a Land Rover on an international mission to connect with landmine survivors and a couple other tidbits from that period in her life. I thought, “She’s braver than I am…” Little did I know!
When Kelley finally published her memoir, I fast-tracked it on my reading list. What I discovered far, far, far, outweighed what I had imagined her life had been like. Let me tell you, it is a catalogue of pain, trauma, and some really challenging life events. The fact that Kelley can take photographs of herself smiling is a testament to an incredible amount of resilience.
Kelley’s memoir, which is smoothly written, is full of rich, descriptive prose, and details a life of physical abuse – by her mother and a patriarchal medical establishment, and a multitude of shitty men. Her innate, powerful endurance allows her to survive some extremely shitty circumstances and bad luck.
A quick synopsis: After dealing with the initial trauma of losing both of her legs below the knee to meningitis, Kelley as a teen on the cusp of a cross country scholarship to Ohio University, navigates a harsh world of abuse in the home and life on the streets. After rightfully being given a settlement by the hospital that misdiagnosed her and could have saved her legs – and by extension put her on a different course in her life, Kelley decides to meet amputee landmine survivors around the world while going from point to point in a Land Rover.
The memoir takes us through her time in Britain working as an off-road instructor, her travels to Bosnia and Serbia, and her time spent recuperating in Greece. Her life in Greece…is not exactly smooth, but she meets a neighbor who is a psychologist, and he helps give her the feedback to finally put her trauma in the appropriate context. I’m skipping a lot her, because I don’t want to ruin the travails of the book for you. And there is a lot, I’m not covering here. It’s not necessarily an exhausting novel, but my personal observation, is that there is more pain there than is strictly necessary for a human being to have to deal with. I don't usually have a physical capacity to cry, but my eyes did water a couple of times towards the end.
While the book is a catalogue of traumas, there are bright moments, and Kelley certainly deals with events as they come at her with as much grit and humor as any person could muster in those circumstances.
My mind immediately went to the movies. Someone *has* to option this book. “Who’s going to play Kelley?” was my first thought, which was quickly followed by, “They can’t cram this into two hours. Three seasons of long-form tv will do it.”
Suffice to say, this is a powerful and intense memoir. It’s full of very hard-earned wisdom, and that wisdom is not abstract and saccharine. There is a great deal to be learned here by anyone coping with trauma – and more importantly – people who think that they have dealt with their trauma.
In terms of the technical aspects of the book, Kelley is a gifted writer. I didn’t expect this memoir to be a page turner, but I spent a couple nights “plowing” through it, and reading much more than I intended to in each sitting. It is a very compelling work.
Kelley, you’ve had a series of shit hands dealt to you. I’m glad you are going to experience a success with this memoir. It must’ve been hell to put down on the page. It’s a great accomplishment and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a real-life adventure hewn out of circumstances that could’ve put the author on a downward trajectory if she wasn’t possessed with the strength of the gods.
Kudos, Kelley!
As someone whose salary is not robust enough to provide me with the opportunity to travel widely, Instagtram is my window on the world. I constantly use it to visit places vicariously. Want to go to an interesting place beyond your means? Hashtag the destination, and assuredly, someone has taken beautiful photos of it.
Several years ago, my family and I had driven down to the Outer Banks, and while we made it down to Hatteras for an afternoon, we’d run out of time to see what I was really interested in – Ocracoke Island. This storied island had been the base for Blackbeard, and I wanted to go, tread the same ground, breathe the same air, smell the same smells, and torture my children with a visit to yet another small, local museum or two. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Instagram was a cheap substitute and through my travels, I happened upon Kelley Shinn’s page. This must’ve been about four years ago, shortly before (?) or after Hurricane Dorian. I don’t remember the exact chronology of my interactions with Kelley perfectly, but what follows is the gist.
At the time, Kelley had been posting about how the hurricane had devastated her home. I was caught up in that, as it was an extremely difficult period – mostly due to the inadequate response by FEMA (if memory serves). The damage to her home was extensive, and then, I believe she posted something about a neighbor returning one of her legs that she’d lost after a swim.
“Wow,” I thought. “An amputee and her home was devastated by this hurricane. God, that sucks.” I continued to keep an eye on her page, and she and I would communicate with each other in her comment section occasionally.
The next shoe to drop, was that she mentioned to me that she had found her husband dead in their home. (I don’t know if this occurred before or after Dorian.) I thought, “Jesus. That’s so much to bear. Being a person with a disability, having your home practically destroyed by a hurricane, and losing a husband. That’s some extreme trauma to deal with.”
In future conversations, Kelley briefly mentioned that she’d taken a Land Rover on an international mission to connect with landmine survivors and a couple other tidbits from that period in her life. I thought, “She’s braver than I am…” Little did I know!
When Kelley finally published her memoir, I fast-tracked it on my reading list. What I discovered far, far, far, outweighed what I had imagined her life had been like. Let me tell you, it is a catalogue of pain, trauma, and some really challenging life events. The fact that Kelley can take photographs of herself smiling is a testament to an incredible amount of resilience.
Kelley’s memoir, which is smoothly written, is full of rich, descriptive prose, and details a life of physical abuse – by her mother and a patriarchal medical establishment, and a multitude of shitty men. Her innate, powerful endurance allows her to survive some extremely shitty circumstances and bad luck.
A quick synopsis: After dealing with the initial trauma of losing both of her legs below the knee to meningitis, Kelley as a teen on the cusp of a cross country scholarship to Ohio University, navigates a harsh world of abuse in the home and life on the streets. After rightfully being given a settlement by the hospital that misdiagnosed her and could have saved her legs – and by extension put her on a different course in her life, Kelley decides to meet amputee landmine survivors around the world while going from point to point in a Land Rover.
The memoir takes us through her time in Britain working as an off-road instructor, her travels to Bosnia and Serbia, and her time spent recuperating in Greece. Her life in Greece…is not exactly smooth, but she meets a neighbor who is a psychologist, and he helps give her the feedback to finally put her trauma in the appropriate context. I’m skipping a lot her, because I don’t want to ruin the travails of the book for you. And there is a lot, I’m not covering here. It’s not necessarily an exhausting novel, but my personal observation, is that there is more pain there than is strictly necessary for a human being to have to deal with. I don't usually have a physical capacity to cry, but my eyes did water a couple of times towards the end.
While the book is a catalogue of traumas, there are bright moments, and Kelley certainly deals with events as they come at her with as much grit and humor as any person could muster in those circumstances.
My mind immediately went to the movies. Someone *has* to option this book. “Who’s going to play Kelley?” was my first thought, which was quickly followed by, “They can’t cram this into two hours. Three seasons of long-form tv will do it.”
Suffice to say, this is a powerful and intense memoir. It’s full of very hard-earned wisdom, and that wisdom is not abstract and saccharine. There is a great deal to be learned here by anyone coping with trauma – and more importantly – people who think that they have dealt with their trauma.
In terms of the technical aspects of the book, Kelley is a gifted writer. I didn’t expect this memoir to be a page turner, but I spent a couple nights “plowing” through it, and reading much more than I intended to in each sitting. It is a very compelling work.
Kelley, you’ve had a series of shit hands dealt to you. I’m glad you are going to experience a success with this memoir. It must’ve been hell to put down on the page. It’s a great accomplishment and I recommend this book to anyone looking for a real-life adventure hewn out of circumstances that could’ve put the author on a downward trajectory if she wasn’t possessed with the strength of the gods.
Kudos, Kelley!
June 12, 2023
The author lays bare her life experiences and emotions with honesty. It’s amazing story, beautifully written.
October 4, 2025
This was an amazing book. I was told about the book by my daughter who was given a copy by the author at a writing workshop my daughter attended. I read the back cover and was hooked!! I was expecting a kind of travel book about her attempt to drive around the globe in her Range Rover! Instead what it was, was a fascinating tale about this woman’s life. You experience the deep pain but also the hope she always finds in situations that would cause the majority of people to call it quits!! People who have not experienced 1% of the things this woman has experienced in her life. She is truly an inspiration!!
June 6, 2023
One of the most powerful books I have read. The author details her journey as a single mother and double amputee who begins to heal herself by visiting land mine survivors in war torn countries around the world. Her immense courage and compassion will both awe and inspire you. Most of us will never face a fraction of the adversity that she has endured, but all of us can benefit from the life lessons she shares.
November 8, 2023
If you’re like me and really struggling through this book, keep reading. There is something very disjointed in the beginning, almost as if it is being written by two different authors, but the end (which is kind of the beginning of the story) is beautifully written. An important read for mother and daughters.
This would have been a 5 star rating if it was put together differently.
This would have been a 5 star rating if it was put together differently.
August 14, 2023
Resilient, compassionate, fierce, loving and undeniably a beautiful human being. I couldn't put the book down! Kelley has an impeccable attention to detail in her writing. I highly recommend carving out some time in your hectic schedule, grab some wine and read a true heros story.
August 30, 2023
This book is very hard to put down. Kelley’s story is so powerful. At times I felt nervous to turn the page, worried about what was going to happen to her next. It is a story filled with adventure, sadness, loss and hope. Highly recommend!
February 14, 2024
This is a good one, at times raw and shocking and at other times light and joyful and always unpredictable. Kelley Shinn is a native of Akron and she shares her brave journey in a beautiful and honest voice.
March 30, 2025
Shinn’s story is a fascinating and heart-breaking one, and I did enjoy many parts of this memoir. The organization of the text was difficult to follow at times as it jumped from different times in her life, and I didn’t really understand why.
December 22, 2023
It left me with so many questions. What a life lived! I would like to know more about if Kelley continued outreach and if that evolved.
December 14, 2024
so sweet reading a memoir where one of my besties is playing a leading a role :) 4 year old Cecilia is quite charming <3
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews