My Soul Purpose: Living, Learning, and Healing [Mass Market Paperback]

Heidi Von Beltz (Author), Peter Copeland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1998

Funny, forthright and irrepressible stuntwoman Heidi von Beltz was 24 when a crash on the set of "The Cannonball Run" left her barely alive and completely paralyzed. Doctors gave her a few months to live or, at best, a few miserable years confined to an institution. Heidi set out to prove them wrong--and today she can move all her major muscles and can stand on her own. This is the inspiring account of her remarkable life. Photo insert.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1985, Heidi, the 25-year-old daughter of Brad von Beltz, a veteran actor in westerns, was working as a stuntwoman and was on her way to a successful Hollywood acting career. Then, on the set of Cannonball Run, she broke her neck in a car crash. Written with journalist Peter Copeland (She Went to War), this inspiring account details Heidi's rehabilitation, which was achieved despite the gloomy prognosis of doctors, who predicted she would remain a quadriplegic and die within five years. Her parents found a pioneer in spinal surgery who fused their daughter's neck, and with their unwavering support, Heidi embarked on a series of rigorous alternative treatments and spiritual journeys that enabled her to regain movement in her arms and legs and to sit and stand with support. Optimistic and energetic, Heidi today surrounds herself with loyal friends, including actress Melanie Griffith, works on healing herself and reaches out to others with severe physical injuries. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

With a budding movie and stunt career, von Beltz suffered near-fatal injuries during the filming of Cannonball Run in 1980. Damage to several neck vertebrae led to a harsh diagnosis of permanent paralysis with little chance of improvement. "She will never again move below the earlobes," one doctor told her parents. However, she was determined to disprove such medical opinions and to get on with living. Strong support from her parents and friends (Melanie Griffith is her closest friend) aided her recovery, as did Christian Science, holistic medicine, visualization, and hope. Her robust optimism about getting better--in the face of repeated negative medical opinions--was rewarded with physical control never deemed possible by numerous doctors, nurses, and therapists. After devoting herself to exercise programs and mental therapies for the last 15 years, she has straightened out her spine (S-curved by the crash), regained movement in every part of her body, and become a role model for others stricken with spinal injuries. This inspiring story offers both a view from a Hollywood insider and a testament to the power of her determined, positive will. Jennifer Henderson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312964315
• ISBN-13: 978-0312964313
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,670,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, thought provoking and even a tad irreverant., December 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: My Soul Purpose (Hardcover)

In November,1994, was wife and I were involved in a motor vehicle accident which left her a C-6 quad. Ever since the accident I have attempted to create a life which may have resembled that which we used to enjoy yet I was never quite able to find the "magic bullet". When I read the review of Heidi's book I felt I had nothing to loose but to purchase it. I have to tell you, it was Good Medicine! My wife poured through the book several times and with each reading felt more inspired to never end for quest for the cure. In addition to a renewed zeal to live life again Kathleen began to exercise religiously and see progressas aeach week passed. kathleen continues to this day to inform me that "Heidi would do this each day and eventually........" In a nutshell "My Soul Purppose" is a painfully truthful account of a young woman who has sustained an injury which only those who too have sustained a SCI can have an appreciation for her personal tale. Rather than painting a picture of woe Heidi provides personal experiences which provides hope and inspirastion for those individuals who have sustained a SCI. To see the smile and sense the inner peace which my wife experienced as she read "My Soul Purpose" made me accutely aware that the healing which occurs after a SCI is clearly more spiritual than physical. Suffice it is to say that this book has provided the direction to heal the psyche, now it is just a matter of being patient for the rest of the healing to occur!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Motivating, July 4, 2001

By 

karen b (washington, dc USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Soul Purpose: Living, Learning, and Healing (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished this book, and I would recommend it to anyone with a spinal injury, especially those who were once athletic. If you ever feel like "giving up", then you MUST read this book!! Matter of fact, I plan to read it again. Inspiring! The book reminded me I MUST keep moving!! Never stop!! Don't give up!!! As long as you keep moving, you'll get better, day by day. Don't ever let the "inner you" die; for THAT INNER SPIRIT is what will keep you and your body alive, and make life meaningful.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Champion!, September 18, 2005

By 

Sandra L. Aumiller "Always Looking For the Best" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Soul Purpose: Living, Learning, and Healing (Mass Market Paperback)

Heidi's account of her on-going quest to comeback from paralysis is a beautiful statement of her courage, intelligence and spiritual knowledge. I finally got around to reading this book that a friend gave me and I am so glad I did. What she has to say is a message for all of us. A message on inner peace of understanding how we truly work...physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. She is a remarkable woman to not give up and to understand that the physical is just one element of who we are. Do yourself a favor and read this book.