“Imagine if you woke up one day and you couldn’t wiggle your toes.”
That’s how Kevin Brooks introduces his story. It begins with a night of partying, and a decision to drive after a few too many drinks. With him was his childhood friend Brendon. The night ends in a horrific crash. Brendon was killed; Kevin was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Kevin faced a long and difficult recovery. Many times he considered just giving up. But somewhere he found the strength to go on. Instead of seeing his paralysis as an end, he saw it as a chance to begin anew.
“Every day I woke up to the wheelchair beside me. I could have done nothing with it or I could have done something.”
What he did with it was to start telling his story. In seven years he has told his story to over 250,000 young people in over 700 high schools and communty sponsored events.
His visit to Clearwater Secondary School was sponsored by ICBC. He held a captive audience of teens, some preparing for graduation and grad night, all preparing for a summer of fun and parties.
Kevin is a passionate speaker with a powerful story to tell, not only about the dangers of drinking and driving but about hope, about not giving up, about confidence and strength in the face of challenges, no matter what they are.
Kevin also spoke at length about suicide and self-abuse. He concedes that young people today face many challenges; however, suicide and self-abuse are not options in Kevin’s mind. Self-abuse can take many forms, from excessive drinking, to flirting with dangerous mind-altering drugs, high-risk lifestyles, and “cutting.”
Over the years he has received thousands of e-mails from young people who had heard him speak. Many shared their stories and their pain with him and vowed to turn their lives around. Several young people either mailed or personally handed over the razor blades they had been using to “cut” themselves.
He acknowledges the strength and support of Brendon’s parents who, instead of hating him and turning their backs on him, forgave him and supported him through his recovery along with his family and friends. Brendon’s parents “gave me a chance for life, and if they hadn’t been the incredibly strong people they are surely none of this would have ever happened.”
Kevin connects with his audience because he is young, he knows and understands what other young people are experiencing and the challenges they face. He has a website, www.kevinbrooks.ca. On his site he shares the stories of other young people who have written to him - he refers to those stories as “your story, my story, our story.”
“My mission is to support, encourage and help young people by adding your stories to mine ... so really this is all about our stories.”
