Panaca author shares the life that came ‘After Survival’

Shane Neilsen describes himself as an ordinary man who has experienced some extraordinary things.

At 10 years old, Neilsen survived a catastrophic accident that resulted in a brain injury, beginning a journey that would eventually include years of surgeries, another serious accident and personal losses and challenges along the way.

More than four decades later, the Panaca resident is sharing that journey in “After Survival: A Memoir of Choice, Consequence, and the Life That Followed,” released Sept. 17.

But Neilsen does not want readers to come away from the book simply knowing what happened to him.

“I’m an ordinary guy who has had extraordinary things happen,” Neilsen said.

For Neilsen, the story is less about the circumstances he survived and more about the choices he made afterward. He said he made a conscious decision not to allow the difficult things that happened throughout his life to make being a victim part of his identity.

“I didn’t make that who Shane Neilsen was,” he said.

That perspective became the foundation for After Survival. The memoir explores choice, consequence, accountability, faith, forgiveness and the relationships that helped shape the life that followed.

Neilsen began seriously working on the book in January 2026 after feeling that the time had finally come to tell the story.

“The Lord told me it was time,” he said.

Getting it onto paper proved more difficult. Neilsen estimates he rewrote the book about five times and joked that his wife, Randi, nearly threw out the first version because it was so bad.

Some of the greatest challenges came from deciding how much of himself he was willing to share. Portions of the memoir deal with deeply personal and family experiences that Neilsen initially hesitated to include.

Ultimately, he decided honesty could give those experiences a greater purpose if sharing them helped someone else look differently at their own circumstances.

That idea has also grown beyond one book.

Neilsen and his wife are co-founders of Neilsen Storyworks, LLC, an independent publishing and legacy-story company based in Panaca. Its motto, “Stories Matter. Legacies Last,” reflects what Neilsen hopes will come from sharing his own story.

“I want other people to write their own stories one day,” he said.

Neilsen believes people do not need to have survived the circumstances he has to have a story worth preserving.

“We have all had extraordinary things happen, and we need to share those,” he said.

That belief also led to the development of the After Survival Legacy Reflection Journal, expected in November. The guided journal is designed to encourage readers to reflect on the people, experiences, choices and turning points in their own lives and begin preserving their own memories.

For Neilsen, that has become an important part of his outlook on what comes next. Rather than allowing the difficult portions of his past to define his life, he hopes to use what he learned from them to encourage others to recognize the value in their own experiences.

Local readers will have an opportunity to meet Neilsen Saturday, Sept. 19, during Art, Literature, Wine & Jazz, hosted by the Lincoln County Authority of Tourism at the Caliente Depot Ballroom from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will feature local authors and writers along with art, photography, wine and jazz.

Neilsen also plans to donate paperback copies of “After Survival” to public libraries in Panaca, Caliente and Pioche and is exploring additional opportunities for local discussions, signings and community events.

“After Survival” is available in hardcover, paperback and eBook editions, with signed copies and additional local availability planned through Neilsen Storyworks.

For Neilsen, publishing his story is not intended to make the things he survived the defining feature of his life. Instead, the book focuses on what came next and the choices that allowed him to continue writing his story.