Wendy Smith’s story begins with a violent rupture: a motorbike crash that left her with a spinal injury and eight months in hospital, told she might never walk again. She ignored it. Walking out on crutches, she began a decades-long process of rebuilding—not just physically, but psychologically.

Now working in Hostile Environment and Awareness Training (HEAT) for journalists—preparing reporters to operate in conflict zones and high-risk settings—Wendy applies that hard-won understanding in the field. In this episode of War Tribe, she reflects on 33 years spent interrogating the limits of the mind and body, and what it takes to stay functional when everything is under pressure.