Army Vet Writes Memoir Using Voice Tech After Accident

After a devastating accident left her dependent on others and living with chronic pain, Linda Crosby refused to let her story go untold.

The U.S. Army veteran turned to speech-to-text technology to write her memoir, "The Day My Life Changed (An Accident Survivor)," after bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome made typing impossible. Her deeply personal book will be displayed at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 18-19, 2026, at the University of Southern California campus.

Linda's memoir chronicles her journey from independence to disability, capturing both the physical pain and emotional struggles that followed her accident. But the heart of her story is about something stronger than hardship.

Throughout the book, she writes candidly about how faith sustained her through the darkest moments. Her husband Roy, who battles cancer, heart disease, and Graves' disease, shares her journey as both caregiver and co-author.

The memoir represents Linda's fourth published book. She previously wrote three other works exploring faith and family, and contributed to "The Sound of the Collective Pen," a poetry anthology that won the 2025 LITSTAR Book Award for Outstanding Poetry Book.

Though her declining health has forced her to step down as President of her church's Pastor's Aide Ministry, Linda remains active as a member. She lives in the South with Roy and their cat Bella, finding joy in music, religious programs, and classic films.

Why This Inspires: Linda's determination to share her story despite severe physical limitations shows how technology can amplify voices that might otherwise be silenced. She transformed her speech into text, her pain into purpose, and her accident into a testament of perseverance that now reaches thousands of readers.

Visitors to the 2026 festival can find her book at the ReadersMagnet booth, where her story of survival and spiritual resilience will inspire anyone facing life's unexpected turns.