'In the pit of my stomach, as I kissed my four-year-old son Lio and my darling wife Sasha goodbye, I knew something was up. By that evening, the police had told me about the crash.

'Lio's bright and talented mother was killed that day, and he narrowly escaped the same fate. But instead of it being an ending for us, the crash was a beginning.

'Lio's miraculous recovery from severe brain damage and a coma defied medical science. As I witnessed his astonishing journey - from intensive care bed to 10 Downing Street - and fought to pull him through horrific injuries and the loss of his mother, I found real purpose and meaning for the first time in my life.' After the Crashis much more than a moving personal story. It's a handbook for dealing with disaster, not just surviving it but mastering it and using it to transform your life for the better.

Martin Spinelli is a senior lecturer in the School of Media, Film and Music at the University of Sussex. He has authored dozens of essays in anthologies and journals such asPostmodern Culture,ConvergenceandThe International Journal of Cultural Studies. His innovative radio features and his seriesLINEbreakandRadio Radiohave been heard on BBC Radio, as well as on stations around the world.

The heart-rending true story of how one man's love for his son saved both their lives