Beyond the Bear: How I Learned to Live and Love Again after Being Blinded by a Bear

Very interesting. Real drama. Inspiring.

Every once in a while I stumble upon a book that speaks to me in such a profound way. It inspires me and challenges me and humbles me in ways that can’t help but make me a better human being going through this journey called life. Once I start reading I am totally captivated and every time I have to put the book down I do so with an ache in my heart, waiting to reunite at the soonest possible moment. Such was my experience reading Beyond the Bear: How I Learned to Live and Love Again after Being Blinded by a Bear.Dan Bigley was a 25 year old adventurer. In 2003, he was living his dream in Anchorage, Alaska…..skiing, fishing, hiking, attending music shows and working with troubled teenagers. One evening after a successful day fishing with his buddy at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers, they were almost back to the car when he was attacked by a frantic grizzly sow (with two cubs). He was smacked and chewed on and then dragged about 25 feet. His injuries were beyond horrific. His eyes popped out of his head and his entire facial infrastructure rearranged; sinuses in pieces and vital bone missing from his skull. While still laying on the ground after the attack and drifting in and out of consciousness, he made a vow to live. Not just exist but REALLY live. His choice would challenge him in the months and many surgeries that lay ahead.In part, this book was so compelling to me because I remember reading his story in the Anchorage Daily News as it happened. I remember cheering when he was released from the hospital after many weeks and I remember crying after reading a letter he wrote expressing his humble thanks to the hospital and staff that cared for him. And wondering what became of him after.What happened is he took some time to heal at his parents home in California. In addition to his physical wounds he had some deep psychological wounds as well. Several years of counseling helped quiet the nightmares and get the “bear out of his head.” After a year or so he attended a school for the blind to learn some critical skills for living without sight and how to use a cane. He also lost his sense of smell so they taught him tricks for differentiating between toothpaste and ICY HOT, or between shampoo and mouthwash. After completion of the school, he was empowered enough to return to Anchorage and resume his life.He couldn’t have picked a more challenging city to return to with it’s icy, snow-filled streets and cold temperatures. One day he was caning his way home and would have run into a moose were it not for a bystander’s warnings. He had to sell his cabin in the woods and lost many of his adventuresome friends. But one remained by his side.He had briefly started dating a woman before the mauling. They had kept in touch and resumed their relationship once he was back in Alaska. They eventually married and now have two children. He went back to school for his masters in social work. Before he could start the masters program, he needed to take a Statistics class which couldn’t be more visual. He practiced his route getting to and from class on the first day he arrived at the appointed classroom only to find out they had moved it making him 20 minutes late and a lot frazzled. That was just the start, almost the entire class was taught on a white board with other visual aids. He ended up lagging way behind so he hired 3 different tutors to help him out and ended up with A. After his masters he started work as a clinician for Denali Family Services, a nonprofit counseling center in Anchorage for disturbed children and their families. A year later he was promoted to director of therapeutic foster care for DFS, the largest therapeutic foster-care provider in the state.In 2008, the Governor's Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation for People With Disabilities presented him with its Alaskan of the Year Award. Prescott College gave him a Distinguished Alumni Award that same year, and in 2010, a Desert Star Award, which recognizes alumni carrying forward the Prescott mission. Most recently, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Alaska.At some point in time he threw away the cane and got a dog. His now constant companion, Anderson, guides him through life working, playing with his kids, chasing salmon, playing music, practicing yoga or going to live music shows.You just can’t read this book without being uplifted and inspired and challenged to do better in your own life. I almost cried when it was over. I highly recommend it

Dan Bigley, once an avid outdoorsman and One with Nature, is mauled by a black bear through no mistake of his own making. Despite the angry sow leaving him blinded and up close and personal with his own death, he chooses Life. This is Dan Bigley's story of moving from dying to surviving to thriving. It is also the story of the Alaskan trauma surgeon who teams with him, fully investing himself and teaming with Dan to keep Dan alive, returned to function and restoring him to a recognizable human form.This is Dan's story of fully utilizing his vast and cherished support system of family, friends and communities who were there for him in all ways moment by moment, never leaving him fully alone during his years of recovery. His support system is a mirror of the depth and breadth of Dan's heart and the way he has always lived his life - with passion, gusto and with the core belief and behaviors that close and mutually supportive relationships are an essential component of a life worth living.At the time of his first catastrophic life event - being mauled by a black bear and left with non-viable-for-life injuries toward the end of a perfect, joyous, beautiful, clear crystal blue day spent in a state of thrill and satisfaction living one of his life skills and passions, river fishing, (with all of the other catastrophic life events experienced physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually as a result of and in the aftermath of the attack), Life was easy and good. His life was made of thoroughly relished joyous adventures and good times. Before the Trauma visited upon him that evening, he'd been enjoying a foot lose and fancy free life, unfettered by committment. The night before, he'd had exactly one (heavenly and connected) evening with a special kindred spirit - Amber, another life-affirming, nature loving member of his beyond the-end-of-the-road Alaskan town. This is Dan, Amber's and their story. And, how he grows and evolves in this relationship. It is the story of Dan's growth from a boy of 25 into a fully actualized adult.Dan shares his authentic, riveting, immediate and intimate evolutionary story of what he went through externally and internally to come to understand, accept his New Normal. And, most significantly, this is the story of how he consciously chose not only not to give into, be defined by and limited by his disabilities, but, rather, to be unlimited, to develop himself, to expand his life and make it and himself bigger and more meaningful than it would otherwise have remained if not for the attack. To thrive, and to help others thrive by developing a bright and bigger vision.Written in the present tense, we are within him, living moment by moment his journey of a good life changed in one filled with pain and lossesintegrating and embracing the reality we truly all share but few master: While we don't always (and often don't) have control over all of the uninvited, unexpected and unwelcomed events that happen to us, Dan role models for us how his and our ultimate control and power come from the make or break (us) words we choose to tell ourselves that affect our mood, decisions and behaviors. Hiding nothing, he courageously bares himself, sharing his life.Read this book! Dan Bigley is a truly great Teacher with lessons relevant to all of our lives, no matter our circumstances. Through Dan's generous sharing of his life and hard-earned tools, he offers us the Gift of acquiring his Life-affirming skills to ake the best possible celebratory and meaningful choose to be as honest and productive in our own lived; to follow his role modeling of making choosing productive and life-affirming ower of productive thoughts/words and story we tell ourselves, what we do to ourselves because of what has happened, what we choose to focus on that make us a vivtim or a victor.This memoir contains a fully authentic descriptive and experiential look at PTSD. And, it's a primer for coping mechanisms and tools that are of primary necessity for living a good, healthy and meaningful life..Today, Dan is an avid outdoorsman, One with Nature and lives a full, meaningful, large and depth-full life - filled with gratitude. I love this spectacular book for its immediacy of feelings, its beautiful prose with its authentic descriptions of nature, internal and external events lived. I love the Author's closeness with nature, his honesty, his vision and his ongoing counting of his blessings - a choice we all have every day of our lives. This book gave me an intimate look at living blind, with clear limitless vision.Dan and family, you have a friend on the Monterey Peninsula.Dr. Rona Halpern

I loved everything about this book; it was a total 100% good read. It was not only because of the unique nature of the story about Dan Bigley, but how the co-author wrote it. It reads like a thriller. All the parts are intertwined in a manner that makes you crave for more during every step of the story. You feel you know Dan Bigley. He comes to life in the details, in his honesty, how he conveys the story. One of the things I never expected was to have Alaska described in such magnificent detail that now I have a sense of how it could be a wonderful place to live. The descriptions are mesmerizing, the lifestyle, what a fishing experience is like. I appreciated the detailed medical progression beginning with the first steps attending to Dan's wounds, to the final tweaking and everything in-between. This book gave me appreciation on so many levels. Friends and family are everything and Dan knows this and wants us to know this. In reading this book I wanted to be at a party where I would see Dan and be one of those who comes over and talks to him. I loved how he gave me a perspective from the viewpoint of someone who has lost his sight. This past week I was on vacation and while walking along a cliff in Pismo Beach, looking out at a spectacular view, I noticed a blind man with a cane sitting by himself on a bench nearby. Normally I would hardly notice him, but I shouted out to him Good Morning and he replied What a beautiful day it is. I responded to him and he smiled so brightly. This is a start. Next time in this situation I will go sit next to this person and have a full conversation. This book touched my heart, opened my eyes, educated me, but most of all it was an excellent book that I recommend to everyone. I want everyone I know to read it.

What a book. Buy it, you won't put it down. What a man that Dan was - nothing got him down and my gawd hewent thru hell and kept going forward. I will write him one day and tell him how courage I think he was and is and was.!That bear took his face off and he went through operations, BUT his gal waited for him and I prayed she would andhey married and are living up there still. He's educated himself and the town helped him and stood beside him.It's one of the best books I've read in a long time - because of Dan Bigley and his journey and he made it.He's still cute....after all of it.

Excellent.....I've been an RN for 30yrs & I had a patient that was attacked by a Grizzly bear here in BC...She was also an RN & was also blinded & suffered terrible injuries but most of all constant PTSD, She was often in the Psych. Unit & I knew her....She also wrote a book called "The Bears Embrace" but ultimately took her own life,,,,,,,an excellent book.

Enjoyable book and a testimony of perseverance