News and media
I Need a Walk: a Te Araroa journey to overcome brain injury
A couple years ago, Claire Lewinski was struck by a string of traumatic concussions over four months. She had a car accident, ran into a bathroom shelf, and was punched in the face. She stopped working, dropped out of university, and struggled to even walk around the block without feeling symptoms. Life as she knew it completely changed.
Claire went to rehab for months but wasn’t fully recovering. She grew up near the mountains and knew the healing power of walking in nature, so she worked with her doctors on a recovery plan that included hiking the South Island on Te Araroa.
Walking Te Araroa helped Claire get her mind back, but she still felt unseen and misunderstood after her traumatic brain injury diagnosis. So, she decided to share her story in her book, I Need a Walk, which is being crowdfunded. The young brain injury survivor hopes her story helps others heal from trauma.
Half of the profits from I Need a Walk will be given to Te Araroa Trust as a thank you, and to support our work improving the trail experience for walkers. For an in-depth look at Claire’s journey and to contribute to her crowdfunding campaign, visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-need-a-walk-by-claire-lewinski
