After six days in a coma, choking & gasping for air, regaining consciousness with a breathing tube down my throat, and 18 hours of surgery to stabilize my shattered spine, leg, knee, scapula, arm, and blood-filled lungs, my first thoughts arose from the nightmare, “Did I get hit during the Hawaii Ironman?”  

Upon impact with the van, my vertebrae burst, bones crushed, lungs punctured, helmet shattered, bike split in two as I lay in the middle of the road, hanging onto whatever life source was left in me. In an instant, not only was my body shattered, but so were my dreams, aspirations, and identity - what felt like my entire being. 

My story is about the willingness to believe that our soul bones are still good even when trauma leaves us in the wreckage of its wake.

This story is about facing severe, life-altering trauma, its shock, its destruction from the outside in and inside out, the undying persistence and unwavering courage to piece life back together - failing miserably at times - only to discover someone along the way whom I never knew.  It’s about fighting for some kind of normalcy after a devastating blow, realizing years of complex trauma from childhood stood in the way of hopes of being “normal”... again?   It’s about fighting, digging deeper, opening up the once-closed and protected self to the reality of trauma’s unrelenting forces.  It’s about feeling grief.  Aiming for recovery.  Experiencing healing.  And continually reinventing myself amidst growth - on repeat.  Soul Bones is a wide-eyed,  honest, and vulnerable story of how as humans, we can feel fragmented on every level, but at our essence, we have within us a deep, profound strength and resilience necessary to face unimaginable circumstances and paralyzing uncertainty. It’s about the willingness to consider, and possibly come to believe, that our soul bones are still good even when trauma leaves us in the wreckage of its wake.

Monique Petrov's journey began as a competitive swimmer before becoming an All-American elite triathlete, qualifying for 5 Ironman World Championships, securing a spot among the top female age group triathletes in the world.  After a life-threatening bike accident in 2009 left her unable to walk or care for herself for months, she arduously shifted her career from triathlon & strength coaching to serving as a NICU nurse (neonatal intensive care) at UCSF Benioff & UC Davis Children's Hospitals.  For the past 14 and a half years, she's delved deeply into survival, healing from trauma, rebuilding, and constant reinvention.  Her passion for using her own life’s journey as data, examining it for clues - amid the anguish, isolation, loneliness, and shame - for hope, inspiration, and the ultimate connection with one’s self -- developing and emerging with a brand new level of self-confidence and trust to more boldly step forward in the world. 

Compelled to share the profound insights gained, Monique is on a mission to offer hope, healing, and inspiration to others. 

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