When West Seattle High School head girls basketball coach, professional model, and Admiral resident, Sonya Elliott was 24, she was driving home from her wedding shower with her fiancé, Mark, Overholt, who she met at Eastern Washington University. It was Oct. 20, 1991. While driving through rural Ritzville, their car was hit by a train. Only Sonya survived. She shattered her right arm and leg, suffered from a punctured lung, lacerated spleen and kidney, and a bruised heart.

Yes, a bruised heart, literally and figuratively. In her new book, "Back on the Court", TIGRESS Publishing, to be released Oct. 16, Elliott takes us through the loss of Mark, and her fight to move on. While the tragedy occurred almost half her lifetime ago, she feels she is ready, through her writings, to help others get through their personal challenges. She remarried, has two children, and with her active coaching and modeling careers, and loving family, you might say her life sets an example, as is reflected in her book, for others struck with crisis searching for hope through it all.

The Herald ran a story on TIGRESS Publishing in West Seattle here.

"It's scary and fun, a little bit of everything all at once," said Elliott of sharing her story all over again as she promotes her book. "It's a memoir, my story. To look back at it, some of it is surreal. The main reason for sharing my story is that I hope to help others.

"I knew Mark just eight months," she continued. "I was young, excited about the future. When you are older, my age now (40-something), and lose someone you were together with for many years and had children with, maybe that would be more tragic. But I don't know. At the time of my accident that was the most pain I had ever been through.

"In my book I mention that when you watch a soap opera, they have people die. Then they come back to life. That (idea) wasn't worth thinking about once I got to a certain part of grieving. He did die, and I couldn't bring him back. You can't go down that road or you will be miserable. I could only follow that road for a while or I wouldn't be able to be happy in my marriage now."

Elliott writes that she remembered everything up to the accident. Then there was a week in ICU that she does not remember well. "The train was going 60 mph. It was in the middle of day. There was no alcohol involved," she said. "It was rural with no crossings. There are now."

She attended grief counseling following the accident.

"I was 24, with a group of people in their 40's, and they had been going there like four years, and were really miserable, and I didn't want to feel miserable for four years. Instead of feeling like there is a heaviness or sadness, I think Mark gave me something, and I carry the good parts he shared with me.

"I see Mark's parents at least once a year," she said. "They do a golf tournament to raise money for his memorial fund. My whole family goes. I love seeing them, and I think they like seeing me. We didn't have the chance to get to know each other well before the accident. Mark's buddies show up and I love hearing them joke about him, and talk about parts of him that I didn't know about."

Elliott currently plays basketball in two women's leagues.

"In college I was 5 feet, 9, and played forward," she said. "After the accident I lost a half an inch in height. Now I play guard."

Sonya Elliott will have a book signing book signing at the Cask,
Thursday Nov. 3rd, 6:pm to 8:pm.

The Cask
2350 California Ave SW

206-938-CASK (2275)