One of the greatest attributes a person can have is the ability to turn a negative situation into something positive.
Award-winning author Angela Halgrimson has done exactly that, after turning a life-threatening situation into the inspiration she needed to follow her dream.
Halgrimson will be at Scout and Morgan Books in Cambridge from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 5 to discuss her books, and her journey to becoming an author.
Halgrimson, like many authors, started writing at a young age. As a young child, she was always writing new short stories to keep herself entertained.
“I have always had a passion to write and be silly,” she added.
As an adult, she never knew writing would become her life after opening a hair salon. Halgrimson worked at the salon up until a near fatal complication while giving birth to her first son.
She was informed she had pre-eclampsia, which had gone undiagnosed. This caused heart and lung issues, as well as permanent brain damage.
Life was beginning to get back to normal until the birth of her second son, when again she faced complications.
After birth, she was brought into surgery where both of her lungs collapsed. For Halgrimson, this began to feel like the end.
“I was dead,” she said. “I was actually clinically dead on the table.” 
Recovery was tough after the second injury, which caused even more damage to her brain. She was left with permanent memory loss, and was forced to end her work as a hair stylist.
Halgrimson; however, would not give up that easy. She was not ready for this injury to define the rest of her life.
“I could have laid in bed and felt sorry for myself,” she said. “I just had all of these stories, and I wanted to share them. I wanted to live my life.”
Halgrimson pursued her passion for writing in an effort to break the stigma of people with brain injuries. She wanted to show the world that people could still function and live normal lives, even after a traumatic brain injury.
Her first award-winning book, “Lenny the Crow,” allowed her to use her platform as an author to raise money and awareness for a cause she held close to her heart.
She contacted the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance and donated the proceeds from that book to help those in need.
Halgrimson has traveled the country sharing her stories with children, hoping they will have the same kind of positive impact on their lives.
“I love to make kids giggle,” she said. “I want to let each kid know that they are special.”
When Halgrimson makes her visit to Scout and Morgan, she will be presenting her second children’s book, “Nobody Likes a Booger.”
She will also be promoting her podcast The NOT Boring Book Show, where she interviews award-winning authors and discusses a wide range of literally topics.
To learn more about Halgrimson and her work, visit thenotboringbookshow.com. To learn more about the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance visit braininjurymn.org.