Kathy Torpie

When Kathy Torpie glanced in the mirror on her way out the door one night, she had no way of knowing that this would be the last time she would ever see her familiar reflection. On her way home that night her car was hit head on by a drunk driver at high speed. With broken limbs and a shattered facial skeleton, this physically active, fiercely independent woman woke up in an intensive care unit on life support. Physically helpless and emotionally vulnerable, her life depended on strangers who spoke in a language she didn’t understand and who knew her only as the ‘multi trauma’.

Losing Face is the story of a woman who loses all of the anchors she relied on for her identity as the result of a high speed collision with a drunk driver. In an instant, her facial skeleton is shattered and her limbs are so badly broken that she is rendered immobile. It takes much longer to break, and then rebuild, her spirit. Over the course of several years and dozens of re-constructive surgeries, she learns to transform profound loss into a deep connection with her authentic self in a journey of self discovery.

Losing Face: A Memoir of Lost Identity and Self Discovery offers a deeply intimate view of the patient experience - one that is often hidden by more visible physical trauma - while exploring issues of personal identity and the 'faces' we so convincingly wear in the world. Losing Face will appeal to anyone who has ever been lead to wonder, "Who am I ...really?"

• Patients feel validated, understood, and inspired.

• Family members are better able to provide understanding and support.

• Healthcare professionals get a deeply intimate view of the patient experience and the importance of relating to patients as unique individuals.

• Anyone experiencing a life changing loss will discover that even the most traumatic losses create a space for new experiences and growth.

“This should be a recommended read for every medical and allied health science student and any medical professional who works with trauma patients”

The first edition of 'Losing Face; A Memoir of Lost Identity and Self Discovery' was published by Harper Collins in 2005. Since then, the author has delivered keynote presentations to thousands of healthcare leaders and clinicians around the world based on her experience as a patient, her professional insights as a psychologist, and evidence drawn from scientific and organizational research.

In 2018 Losing Face was required reading on the Medical Reading List for a Competative Event held by H.O.S.A, an international career and technical student organization for future health professionals endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Technology Education Division of ACTE.

KATHY HAS SERVED IN THE FOLLOWING ROLES.

SHE IS NOW RETIRED

Television

• Kathy's story, featured in "60 Minutes" in New Zealand one year following her accident, was nominated for a Media Peace Award

A Member of:

• The Beryl Institute Speakers Bureau

• The Beryl Institute Global Patient and Family Advisory Council

• Hearts in Healthcare

• Steering Committee: Policy and Advocacy Committee, ACHSM (Australasian College Of Health Services Managers),

• Steering Committee Member - Optimizing the Patient Journey Project, New Zealand Ministry of Health, 2008 – 2010

Author of:

• A chapter on patient safety issues (Torpie, K. "When Healing Harms.") in Learning from Patient Stories: A Book of Case Studies. (Johnson, J.; Haskell, H; Barach, P (editors). Jones and Bartlett Learning.)

• An article in the Patient Experience Journal (“Customer Service vs. Patient Care”, PX Journal,Vol 1, Issue 2 (2014) which has (as of January 2021) been downloaded 52,479 times by 4,111 institutions in 188 countries