Podcasts Culture All The Wiser 7. Bob Woodruff got blown up in Iraq.

7. Bob Woodruff got blown up in Iraq.

Published: May 29, 2019, 4 a.m.

After decades of preparation, Bob Woodruff was offered his dream job: the anchor chair at ABC World News Tonight. But less than two months later he was hit by a bomb in Iraq, incurred massive head trauma, and spent 36 days in a coma fighting for his life. When he finally woke up, the famous journalist with a photographic memory could no longer remember the names of his four young children. While Bob eventually regained many of his physical and cognitive abilities, his life and career were forever changed. In this candid and life-affirming conversation, Bob shares his perspective on invisible wounds, unexpected gifts and the joy of rediscovered purpose.\xa0

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In Today\u2019s Episode:

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  • Bob starts his dream job: co anchoring World News Tonight and leaves to report on the war in Iraq (7:40)
  • The moment he was hit by a roadside bomb (12:40)
  • Unaware if he is alive or dead \xa0(13:00)
  • What physically happens to your body and head when you are blasted by a bomb (21:40)
  • Are there any stories worth dying for? \xa0(39:10)

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Wise Words:

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  • (On Peter Jennings) \u201cHe\u2019s the guy that I really wanted to emulate; I think I wanted to be like Peter.\u201d (6:50)
  • \u201cIt was never the 36 days that the ones that were painful, it was the years afterwards, certainly the months after.\u201d (19:50)
  • \u201cOnce that miracle of survival kinda starts to sweep away, you realize that your life is gonna be completely different and you have to make this transition. (25:10)
  • \u201cYou\u2019ve got this gigantic world that you have to find your spot in, you know, your direction in, and that\u2019s a shocking change, and I think that\u2019s the blackness. \xa0I think the blackness that everybody that\u2019s gone through this, goes through.\u201d Now you\u2019ve gotta figure out what you\u2019re gonna be and what you\u2019re gonna do.\u201d (25:55)
  • \u201cI realized that one of the reasons of religion is, I think, to give you comfort about where you\u2019ve gonna spend most of your existence, and I think I had a realization that this is exactly what\u2019s out there. \xa0And you can have all sorts of thoughts about what\u2019s written in the various books and it\u2019s got detains in it that some either believe or don\u2019t believe, but if you really think about it, whoever the prophets may be, what they\u2019re really trying to tell you is that it\u2019s gonna be nice when you go.\u201d \xa0(27:28)
  • \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than friends, you know? \xa0The ones that truly are your friends are the ones that stick with you when you go through suffering, and so those I still have.\u201d (29:15)
  • \u201cI think people they don\u2019t really see what their lives are until sometimes they see something worse.\u201d (37:55)
  • \u201cIf you don\u2019t have journalists out there to tell the story, then you might as well get thrown back to the great soviet days. \xa0I\u2019ve been to the countries where in no journalism, and you can tell the impact on the people to not have it.\u201d (39:20)
  • \u201cMake sure that those around you are still there by your side. \xa0That means there\u2019s a lot you\u2019ve got to do make sure they\u2019re next to you. \xa0You can\u2019t just beg for it and you can\u2019t just assume it.\u201d (40:57)

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