BACK FROM THE DEAD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE 7/7 BOMBINGS can be called a miracle because its author had almost no chance of surviving the suicide bomber attack. He was the closest person to Mohammed Sidique Khan, who blew himself up on a London Tube on the 7th of July 2005. His traumas were incompatible with life; his heart stopped twice, and only the heroic actions of doctors and nurses saved him. However, the real struggle began after the blast.

Dan Biddle doesn't like memoirs from people achieving something extraordinary after life-changing events. In his view, ordinary things like standing (or sitting) in bed, taking a shower, and making breakfast take much more energy and courage if you sustained massive injuries and suffer from CPTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder). Thus, BACK FROM THE DEAD shows just that, ordinary things done by ordinary people, Dan and his loved ones. Narrative nonfiction tone, as if the author talks with you directly, makes reading easier and smooths out the rough edges of the gruesome story. There is no self-pity or boiling hatred over Khan's actions, though he became a fixture in Dan's recurring flashbacks. For the reader and himself, Dan Biddle openly dissects his life to understand what helps him to get up every morning. There is a special person beside him, whose support is vital for Dan. Nevertheless, his will to live and even help others in a similar situation (despite a few setbacks) makes the memoir worth reading.

BACK FROM THE DEAD will be beneficial to any reader, but readers from the UK will find it particularly helpful: Dan Biddle talks at length about the flaws of the English state system for the disabled.

For me, it is one of the best nonfiction reads this year. Yes, most memoirs are written by winners (if being blown off by an extremist, or being hit by a Russian missile in Ukraine, or being crashed by a snowcat can be considered a win). Yes, every one of these stories is unique. Each one demonstrates to what extent humans are not defined solely by their physicality, but by the grandeur of their spirits.

I received my advanced review copy through Netgalley, and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

I did not want to read about the minutiae of the 7/7 London suicide bombings, where 52 people were killed and over 700 were injured.
Danny Biddle was the worst-injured person of those attacks and this is his report about his life before, the attack, the unbelievable odds of his survival, his subsequent suicide attempts and his immeasurably changed life now.
A friend of mine was caught up in a maliciously motivated explosion and still will not/cannot engage with it. Reading Danny Biddle’s book was my feeble attempt to gain an insight if such a thing were at all possible.
There is a searing candidness running through this book, so be prepared.
There is wry, pitch-black humour and depths of despair that noone can fathom.
And then there is humanity in its most glorious form in everyday people, in first responders and in people carrying love like a shining beacon.
I absolutely share his disgust with the prevalent photo-op politicians and the cynical CICA system.
Read it, it may well help you with helping others.

This was a deeply emotional read, tracing Dan’s survival from devastation to defiance: raw, uncompromising, and powerful.