This week Nicola and Di chat with the remarkable Sam Bloom. Sam’s a mum of 3, who lived a very full and active life until a devastating accident in Thailand left her paralysed. In the midst of rebuilding, along came Penguin, the little magpie who helped her heal. Their story became a best-selling book, captured by her photographer husband Cam, and later turned into a global hit film, Penguin Bloom. Now a world-champion para-kayaker, surfer and a passionate advocate, Sam is testament to the inner strength that each of us can find when faced with adversity.

In this conversation, we hear about that fateful day in Thailand, when in the blink of an eye, Sam’s life changed forever when she fell through a rotten balcony railing and crashed six metres onto the concrete below. Sam shares just how awful that experience was, including the moment when she was told she would never walk again, and she thought that her life was over. 

Sam opens up about how much guilt she felt as a mother who could no longer look after her 3 boys in the way that she used to. The simple things she wasn’t able to do for them, and how much she hated the way the tables had turned and her boys needed to look after her.

We also hear about the incredible moments of support and acts of kindness from her family and those around her, that gave her a renewed sense of purpose and allowed her to find hope again through competitive para-kayaking. Sam went on to compete in competitions around the world, and was also encouraged to get back into surfing, and went on to win Gold for Australia in the 2018, 2020 and 2023 World Para Surfing Championships.

And of course we talk about the beautiful story of a little magpie named Penguin, who also played a big part in Sam’s healing. Sam shares how what started as an Instagram account, went onto become a best-selling book and then a film with Naomi Watts. 

This is such a beautiful and honest conversation about the importance of community, resilience, and the healing power of laughter and purpose. We were so honoured to have this chat with Sam and we hope you love it as much as we did. 

If you love our Over The Back Fence chats, come and hang out with us and some amazing guests at our in person event on the 19th of June at the Woolly Bay Hotel in Sydney. You can buy your tickets here - https://events.humanitix.com/over-the-back-fence-podcast-9r2scfqj/tickets 

This episode is proudly supported by Montgomery Investment Management, trusted experts helping you build and protect your financial future. 

Follow Sam on IG here - https://www.instagram.com/samjbloom/?hl=en

Follow Sam on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/sambloomaustralia#

Find out more about Sam and her work here - https://sambloom.com.au/

Buy the books Penguin Bloom and Sam Bloom here - https://www.penguinthemagpie.com/

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here - https://www.instagram.com/overthebackfencepodcast/

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