Unbowed: A Soldier's Journey Back from Paralysis is the story of a dramatic recovery from diagnosed quadriplegia to a level of functionality rarely seen.Billy Hedderman was body boarding on the Sunshine Coast, Australia on New Year's Eve 2014, when a wave dumped him into the sand. He broke his neck, back and suffered immediate spinal cord damage, paralysing him from the neck down. Lucky not to drown, Billy was rushed to Queensland's premier spinal injuries unit where he began the difficult road to recovery. Yet incredibly within seven months of his injury, the incomplete quadriplegic ran a 10 km race in Brisbane in under one hour.Billy details how his previous life experience  such as service in the elite Special Forces unit Army Ranger Wing, and the death of his two close friends  have assisted in his mental toughness to prevail against all expectations. The book provides insight into Irish Special Forces from a recent serving tactical commander. Billy is currently a serving Captain in the Australian Infantry.

Born and raised in Cork, Billy became an Irish Army Infantry Officer in 2003. His Irish military service included overseas deployments to Chad and Bosnia and service in the Irish Special Forces' Army Ranger Wing, where he served as a platoon commander from 20102013. Billy holds a vast range of specialist military qualifications including military freefall, survival, recon and advanced mountaineering. He retired from the Irish Army in 2014 in order to transfer his service to the Australian Army. He holds an Honours Degree in Physical Education from the University of Limerick, has summitted Mount Kilimanjaro for charity and is currently a captain in the Australian Infantry. Billy is also a recovering incomplete quadriplegic.

Prologue 'You Wrote a Book?' 91 Relax, Bill 152 Leadership 101 223 Realisation 344 Selection 415 My First Week as a Quadraplegic 626 SCRATCH 747 I'm Going To Be Back 928 Chad 1099 Good Morning, Roger 13310 The Value of Friendship 15411 My Leadership Learning Curve Just Got Steep 17212 Let's Go to Work 20613 Luck? 22214 Leaving to Start Again 23015 The Master of My Fate 245Epilogue: Belief and Believe How I Hope to Help You 261Acknowledgements 281