{"id":5659,"date":"2026-01-30T07:54:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/?post_type=product&#038;p=5659"},"modified":"2026-10-12T10:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:12:12","slug":"i-wont-stand-for-this","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/product\/i-wont-stand-for-this\/","title":{"rendered":"I Won&#8217;t Stand for This!"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #3b8199;\">In <em>I Won\u2019t Stand for This!<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><em>Embracing My Disability to Empower Others<\/em>, Phil Nealy shares his experience of life after a spinal cord injury that resulted in quadriplegia. With clarity and honesty, he reflects on rehabilitation, self-advocacy, and the ongoing work of building a full and independent life.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than presenting disability as tragedy or inspiration, Phil challenges common assumptions about ability, productivity, and worth. He writes about navigating physical limitations, social barriers, and shifting identities, while emphasizing resilience, persistence, and personal agency.<\/p>\n<p>Written with Kyle Hawke, this autobiography offers an engaging and thoughtful perspective on disability grounded in lived experience. <em>I Won\u2019t Stand for This!<\/em> will appeal to readers interested in memoir, social issues, and stories of determination that highlight dignity, community, and the power of refusing imposed limits.<\/p>\n<p><!-- DIVIDER: INTRODUCTION \/ AUTHOR BIO _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"divider\" \/>\n<p><!-- AUTHOR BIO _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #3b8199;\"><strong>About the author<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Phil Nealy is a career counsellor with a long history of working with students to help them find new directions. He currently acts as the senior admissions advisor for the Victoria campus of Sprott Shaw College.<\/p>\n<p>Following a diving accident, Nealy was diagnosed as quadriplegic who would need a lifetime of constant care. Refusing predictions of his limitations from doctors, he strove to regain movement. He now lives independently, spending his leisure time exploring nature across Vancouver Island, swimming and snorkelling in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<p>He lives in Langford, BC.<\/p>\n<p><!-- DIVIDER: AUTHOR BIO \/ PURCHASE LINKS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"divider\" \/>\n<p><!-- BUY THE BOOK \/ RETAILER LINKS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<style>\n.buy-the-book .retailer-link {\n    margin: 0 0 0.25rem;\n}<\/p>\n<p>.buy-the-book .retailer-link:last-child {\n    margin-bottom: 0;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section class=\"buy-the-book\">\n<h3><span style=\"color: #3b8199;\"><strong>Buy the book<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><!-- AMAZON RETAILER LINK _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<div class=\"retailer-link\"><strong><a style=\"color: #007a9f;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.ca\/Wont-Stand-This-Embracing-Disability\/dp\/1989467857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<p><!-- INDIGO RETAILER LINK _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<div class=\"retailer-link\"><strong><a style=\"color: #007a9f;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indigo.ca\/products\/i-wont-stand-for-this-embracing-my-disability-to-empower-others\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indigo<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<p><!-- SHOP LOCAL RETAILER LINK _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<div class=\"retailer-link\"><strong><a style=\"color: #007a9f;\" href=\"https:\/\/shoplocal.bookmanager.com\/isbn\/978-1-989467-85-5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shop Local<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- DIVIDER: PURCHASE LINKS \/ BOOK DETAILS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"divider\" \/>\n<p><!-- REVIEW _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #3b8199;\"><strong>Review of <em>I Won&#8217;t Stand for This!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<h5>Focused strength, kindness, and suffering<\/h5>\n<p><em>Reviewed by Lee Reid<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Author Phil Nealy, aka \u2018Super Quad,\u2019 refers to himself as \u201ca freak of nature.\u201d He means this as a personal compliment. After fourteen or more painful surgeries beginning in 1988, Phil affirms: \u201cPain is always part of the healing process. Pain means you\u2019re still alive.\u201dOn the cover of his 248-page book, Phil does not look freakish. We see a mid-years man planted staunchly in his wheelchair: a bald and muscular man dressed in dignified dark purple, and sporting a glossy violet tie.  He sits calmly, regarding the reader with a slight smile that reveals focused strength, kindness, and suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Phil is quadriplegic. <\/p>\n<p><em>I Won\u2019t Stand for This!<\/em> is an action\/adventure book, written in heroic mode like <em>The Odyssey<\/em>: a mythic journey of self-discovery in which the hero or heroine battles demons and dragons. In Phil\u2019s case, the symbolic dragons show up as a myriad of medical procedures incurring painful doubts and fears. Our quadriplegic hero must transform them in order to restore balance and healing within himself, with family connections, and by rebuilding his community. The more masculine versions of this Odyssey present the hero as reclaiming personal power. The feminine heroine restores balance and healing through community. Phil doesn\u2019t view himself as binary or heroic as he travels the mythic midlines between internal and worldly realities, but other people did. They loved him for it.<\/p>\n<p>His inner demons power this revealing, albeit pithy, quote: \u201cThe biggest change in my life came in June of 1988 when a dive into a swimming pool crushed my spinal cord and paralyzed me in all four limbs. It\u2019s a running joke among my family and friends that I don\u2019t do anything halfway\u2014I even went and broke my neck in four places.<\/p>\n<p>Dear readers, I am tempted to offer you a review that consists solely of Phil\u2019s compelling quotes. For a first book by a stubborn paralysed author, a guy who survived many near-deaths, he is a passionate no-frills writer. Phil\u2019s will to live fully is so powerful, so fiery and tangible, that one wonders why, how, or if, he could survive in a broken body? How does a strong athletic man deal with tortuous screws drilled into his skull?  How can you lie caged and prone in a hospital bed for months, or periodically, over many years? Phil did it all. For the first part of his recovery, his head was suspended in a metal cage that screwed into his skull. Whenever the cage was moved or cleaned, however slightly, the pain was excruciating.<\/p>\n<p>Not only did Phil stay alive, but he trained in a new occupation that required empathy, listening, and flexible skills with emotional intelligence. Through his years of healing, he focused on working with vulnerable people; people who challenged themselves to grow and learn, despite social limitations. Like him, their lives were hedged with impossible odds. But, with support, with the example set by Phil\u2019s refusal to accept life\u2019s litany of \u201ccan\u2019t do,\u201d the odds were not insurmountable. The hero challenges the demons of  \u201cCan\u2019t.\u201d Phil trained to be an employment counsellor on Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n<p>Although he was paralysed, he was determined to work&#8230;and swim&#8230;and dance and ski, maybe walk his dog, or even hope to love again. He tried fishing, bought and operated a boat. He enjoyed snorkelling excursions in Mexico. In his motorised and manually operated wheelchairs, Phil danced his heart out.<\/p>\n<p>Phil\u2019s impact on readers may generate disbelief, dislike, even a critical or competitive: \u2018naw, is this dude for real!&#8230; he\u2019s gotta be making this up; nothing can budge quadriplegia!\u2019 Then again, Phil might evoke your compassion. Compassion for the courage and vulnerability that define his journey. Our paralysed hero constantly challenges himself to accomplish the unknown. His quest is relentless. Mobilizing his body became the ultimate heroic journey.<\/p>\n<p>Some would claim that Phil\u2019s risky exploits were arrogance; mere adrenalin-fueled highs proclaiming a dopamined determination to control his destiny. Don\u2019t be misled. He worked hard for the slightest pulsation. Phil earned his moments of grace, and movement. It took years.<\/p>\n<p>It took half a lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>For Phil, hearing the medical diagnosis meant refusing doom, refusing to give up. Chapter Four is titled CAN\u2019T. According to his medical team: \u201cYou can\u2019t walk again. You can\u2019t use your arms&#8230;chances are he is going to require twenty-four-hour care for the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His response?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had little real understanding of what myelin was at the time, and had to trust my body to make up the difference between my limited knowledge and what it needed. I focused my will on making myelin grow back.\u201d Here, Phil referred to the myelin coating that protects our nervous system, enabling the conduction of impulse from brain to muscles.Myelin supports mobility.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Phil was told on camera by the head surgeon: \u201cThis man\u2019s chances of ever moving again are non-existent.\u201dCan you guess Phil\u2019s predictable response? \u201cI will walk out of this place.\u201d Tension builds. As a writer, Phil sustains the tension throughout his book.<\/p>\n<p>Does Phil challenge authority? Yes, he gets into trouble, especially regarding common prejudices about miracles. He rejects medical efforts to diagnose, define, and constrain him. Nobody could corner Phil. Deep in his fractured bones, he knew that his mobility progress was due to hours of his hard work, days of concentrated somatic and mental focus to move parts of his frozen body. But any movement engineered by Phil was medically viewed as either a knee jerk muscle spasm, or a miracle. Surely, he was informed by his team, a patient could not singularly accomplish what medicine could not?  \u201cMust be a miracle,\u201d they said. Of course, Phil objected. I made my big toe move, he attests in hospital. Not a miracle. Everyone in the room was crying, especially himself&#8230;can\u2019t is not an option with me.<\/p>\n<p>Helpless (but undaunted), Phil set to work to help others. How to grow and learn from his pain?  \u201cI was back to making a difference for others. That had been my goal through all the renovations and the move to BC.\u201dPhil settled on Vancouver Island and set to work learning sit skiing, swimming, and boating. He tackled a career as an employment counselor for Sprott Shaw College. \u201cI don\u2019t allow my disability to define me. That\u2019s an active choice.\u201dHe would prove the doctors wrong.Resigning to passivity or helplessness was not his style. \u201cThat learned helplessness is unlearning who you are.\u201d Phil refused to allow himself to be limited by other people\u2019s views. He determined to remain as autonomous as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Phil made many mistakes. He allowed them to open his heart and his mind. \u201cI should have known better, but sometimes my stubbornness works against me. So I kept working through the pain.\u201d He meets the love of his life, they live together with his beloved dog, until her sudden death from a heart attack. Heartbroken, Phil was back on his own. He pushed on.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sleeping requires two heavy-duty sleeping pills or more. I still get jolted awake from the pain at least once a night. I have decided to just live with it rather than make additional failed attempts, each carrying its own risks\u2026 But work was my medicine. It offered a diversion from the stabs of pain\u2026I worked with students to craft budgets to ensure that they could afford to stay in college before they even started. This was my specialty, talking to students about their personal issues and helping them recognize their own value\u2026There\u2019s a bit of a devil about me and I\u2019m not afraid to provoke.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Seventeen years of wheelchair pushing had left Phil\u2019s muscular arms as shredded as hamburger, requiring yet more surgery. \u201cFollowing the surgery they put me on an anticonvulsant drug called gabapentin, which treats neuropathic pain. I quickly suffered side effects\u2026 I had a heart attack.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, Phil went dancing in his manual wheelchair. \u201cThere, I ended up the centre of attention with women fighting for their turn to dance with me. I love dancing in both my electric and manual chairs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With complications from diabetes, Phil faced amputation of his leg. He asked the medical team: \u201cDo you honestly think I\u2019m worth it?\u201dThe surgeon replied:\u201cYou\u2019re a fascinating man and I have a lot of respect for you and your devotion to others. You\u2019re worth it, Phil.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To summarise, this is a book about gratitude, grief, giving and the courage to embrace it all.<\/p>\n<p>The substory, the growth edge for our quadriplegic hero, is male vulnerability. Can vulnerability be heroic? Phil\u2019s story might answer this question. The book offers a fascinating saga for anyone making the transition from extrovert adventures into their heart.<\/p>\n<p><em>This time was more about gratitude than exploring. I was celebrating that I could explore, that I was alive. Yet another ordeal had passed and was now in the past&#8230;no one was saying can\u2019t to me anymore\u2026The way to spend your life inspiring people is to let yourself be inspired.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you, dear readers, need inspiration and an energetic read, then I Won\u2019t Stand for This! is the book for you. If you prefer a subtle, slow writing style with dreamy metaphors and implied nuances, well this action-packed book may not appeal.In the least, no matter what your taste, you will have a good day with Phil.  \u201cGiving others one good day is the least any of us can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u2014 Lee Reid<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A retired clinician, formerly with Nelson Mental Health, Lee Reid has written books about BC rural and coastal communities. Her stories centre around the values and health care needs of BC seniors. She was recently interviewed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interiorhealth.ca\/stories\/ih-volunteers-help-strengthen-our-communities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Interior Health<\/a> about her work with seniors.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lee-Reid.jpg\" alt=\"Lee Reid\" width=\"220\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" \/> <\/p>\n<p>Lee has also written stories about intergenerational education, rural home support care , trauma, and dementia. Recently, she has written and self-published a fourth book: Stories of Mount Saint Francis Hospital: 1950-2005, which illustrates a legacy of compassionate nursing care in the West Kootenay. <\/p>\n<p>Her books are: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abebooks.com\/servlet\/SearchResults?an=reid&amp;bx=off&amp;ds=30&amp;rollup=on&amp;sortby=17&amp;sts=t&amp;tn=coastal%20kitchen&amp;xdesc=off&amp;xpod=off\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">From a Coastal Kitchen<\/a><\/em> (Hancock House, 1980); <em>Growing Home: The Legacy of Kootenay Elders<\/em> (Nelson, 2016), reviewed by Duff Sutherland, and <em>Growing Together: Conversations with Seniors and Youth<\/em> (Nelson, 2018), reviewed by Luanne Armstrong.<\/p>\n<p><!-- DIVIDER: AUTHOR BIO \/ PURCHASE LINKS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"divider\" \/>\n<p><!-- ACCORDION: ADDITIONAL BOOK DETAILS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<details id=\"softcover\" class=\"accordion\">\n<summary><span style=\"color: #3b8199; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>Additional book details<\/strong><\/span><\/summary>\n<div class=\"content\"><!-- ISBN INFORMATION _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<h5>ISBN<\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Paperback: 978-1-989467-85-5<br \/>E-book: 978-1-989467-86-2<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- PUBLICATION INFORMATION _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<h5>Price<\/h5>\n<p>$34.95<\/p>\n<p><!-- PAPERBACK BOOK DETAILS _____________________________________--><\/p>\n<h5>Paperback<\/h5>\n<p>Size: 6in \u00d7 9in<br \/>Page count: 278 (including b&amp;w photos)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<p><!-- END OF BOOK PAGE CONTENT --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5855,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[123,265,443,448,446,284],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-5659","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-biography-and-memoir","product_cat-featured","product_cat-lifestyle","product_cat-overcoming-adversity","product_cat-physical","product_cat-seniors","first","instock","sold-individually","shipping-taxable","product-type-simple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6013,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5659\/revisions\/6013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=5659"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=5659"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granvilleislandpublishing.com\/2point0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=5659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}