Previously published as Almost Gone: A True Story of Survival, Coma, and a Second Chance by Robert B. Routt.
He was almost gone. But his story wasn't over.
In February 2011, Robert B. Routt came frighteningly close to death. After years of pain, prescription medication dependence, and choices that slowly pulled his life apart, his body finally gave out.
What followed was a three-and-a-half-week coma, devastating physical challenges, rehabilitation, and the long process of learning how to live again.
But Almost Gone is about more than the medical crisis that nearly took Robert's life.
It is the story of the life that came before it-from growing up in his family's restaurant in Kentucky and serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees to becoming a father, building a career, competing as a bowler, and eventually watching dependence and addiction take control of the life he had built.
It is also the story of what came afterward.
Robert had to confront the consequences of his choices, adapt to permanent physical limitations, rebuild his independence, and discover what strength really means when life doesn't give you everything back.
Almost Gone is a deeply personal memoir about family, faith, addiction, survival, accountability, resilience, and the extraordinary value of a second chance.
Sometimes surviving is only the beginning.
Every day is a gift. Don't wait until you almost lose yours to realize it.
