Singer Arlinda Norris learned to walk again after hit-and-run in the U.S

ANDm interview to Lusa, in writing, the singer, author and former dancer of singer Emanuel, born in Portugal and with strong ties to Cape Verde, reflected on the impact of the hit-and-run who suffered in March 2024 in New York, and who completely changed her life, leading her to write the autobiography “She Kept Going” [She moved on, in the translation into Portuguese].

The accident occurred when Arlinda crossed a street in Manhattan and caused injuries to her spine, neck, head, hip and knee, including back fractures, concussions and cervical disc hernias, having undergone several surgeries.

“ I remember the impact, the confusion and, above all, the feeling that everything happened very quickly. One minute, I was an independent, active woman. The next moment, I was seriously injured and incapacitated without knowing what my future would be like”, the artist recalled.

The prognosis was reserved and the doctors never guaranteed a full recovery, he told Lusa.

For about two years, Arlinda underwent treatment and physical therapy.

“ It was a long, painful and very demanding process”, he described, explaining that he had to “relearn to trust” his own body and value progress, however small it seemed.

Among the most difficult consequences was the loss of vocal abilities. The singer, who admitted to having “good perspectives on the horizon” in Portugal and in the African Countries of Portuguese Official Language (PALOP), began to notice hoarseness and lost strength, control and reach, becoming speechless in some moments.

“ It was extremely difficult to hear this prognosis”, he said, referring to the possibility of never singing as before.

For the artist, the loss of voice also meant an identity crisis.

“A physical capacity is not lost. He feels that a part of his own identity is being lost”, lamented Arlinda, born in Lisbon and daughter of Cape Verdean parents.

However, the singer, now 50, found other forms of expression.

“ I realized my voice didn't just exist when I sang. I kept having a voice, a story and a message,” he said.

He has not yet returned to singing professionally and admits that the voice “is not the same”, but ensures he has learned not to measure its value only by what he could do before the accident.

The experience gave rise to the autobiography “She Kept Going”, initially written during recovery as a way to organize thoughts and deal with pain. The book goes through childhood, music, fashion, emigration, motherhood, losses, financial difficulties, accident and reconstruction of identity.

“ As I reviewed my life, I realized that there was a guiding wire in all these phases: I continued always”, he observed.

The lawsuit relating to the hit-and-run ended, however, in an agreement whose terms Arlinda can't reveal.

“ No deal can restore lost time, eliminate pain, or completely restore what has changed in my life. But finishing the process allowed me to stop living constantly linked to the accident and start concentrating more energy on my future ", stressed.

Two and a half years after the accident, he says he's no longer defined by what happened to him: “I’m not just the woman who was run over. I am the woman who survived, rebuilt and decided to give a new meaning to what happened to her”.

It is this message that you want to take to other women now through the book, lectures and ‘workshops’ on resilience, identity and new beginnings.

“Restarting is not failing. Sometimes it is the bravest act of our life”, he said, leaving readers one last message: “Your story is not over yet. Perhaps the greatest beginning is still ahead of you.”.