Another Path to My Garden: My Life as a Quadriplegic

Denise Denomme is a library assistant at Laurentian University.

On June 23, 1949, the carefree life of a young woman about to embark on
a university education ended in a freak diving accident. On that day,
Marilyn Noell entered a world of pain, hospitals, wheelchairs, averted
eyes, and dependence. This readable autobiography describes the
day-to-day challenges, both physical and psychological, of life as a
quadriplegic. The reader discovers what it is like to depend on others
for tasks most of us take for granted—getting up out of bed, going to
the washroom, getting dressed, and just being able to go where (and
when) you want to go.

Unfortunately, the book unveils very little of the emotional side of
Noell’s life. Her descriptions of family, friends, and others who
touched her heart are limited and disjointed. Perhaps some of the depth
has been left out to protect those of us who will never fully understand
the life Noell has led, and continues to lead.