Meet Coach Abe

Overcoming Obstacles. Redefining Possibilities.

Adversity doesn't erase purpose — it refines it. I'm Abe Bilodeau, and I help people rebuild identity, strength, and purpose after life changes everything.

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Beyond the Chair

Beyond the Chair is the true story of a man who was born adapting — living with cerebral palsy from childhood — and then had to learn how to adapt all over again after a spinal cord injury changed his life in 2009.

This isn't a polished, everything-figured-out kind of memoir. It's the real one: the three months it took to get a diagnosis, the friend who gave tough love instead of sympathy, the slow and often unglamorous work of therapy, grief, faith, and finding purpose again. Abe Bilodeau — certified life coach, motivational speaker, and founding Oola ambassador — takes readers through his own struggle, shift, and rise, and invites them to find their own way through whatever "chair" is holding them in place.

Whether that chair is literal or not, this book is for anyone in a hard season who needs to know two things: they're not the only one who's been here, and they're not finished.

Author Bio

Abe Bilodeau is a certified life coach, motivational speaker, and founding Oola ambassador with a background in social work and special education. Living with cerebral palsy since childhood and a spinal cord injury since 2009, Abe founded Rise Again Coaching to help others navigate disability, injury, and major life transitions. Beyond the Chair is his first book.

Excerpt

From the Introduction

Beyond the Chair started as two words in my head before it ever became a book title. The first time I said them out loud, I was talking about the actual chair — the wheelchair I've used since 2009. But the longer I sat with it, the more I realized the chair means something bigger than metal and wheels. It's whatever holds you in place. For me, that's been a wheelchair, a hospital bed, and more waiting rooms than I can count. For you, it might be grief, a diagnosis, a marriage that fell apart, a job you lost, or a version of your life you're still mourning.

I was born with cerebral palsy, so adapting has never been new to me. But in 2009, everything changed again. What started as unexplained falls turned into a spinal cord injury that took my ability to walk without help. I spent months in and out of hospitals and rehab facilities, relearning how to do things I'd done my whole life without thinking about them.

This book is the story of what happened next — not the polished version, the real one. The three months it took to get a diagnosis. The friend who gave me a Gibbs slap instead of sympathy when I needed it. The night I got locked in a bathroom at work and had to figure my own way out. The slow, unglamorous work of therapy, grief, faith, and finding my way back to purpose.

I'm not writing this because I have it all figured out. I'm writing it because I don't, and I've learned that's okay. Recovery isn't a straight line, and neither is this book — it moves through the struggle, the shift, and the rise, because that's honestly how it happened for me too.

If you're reading this from your own chair — literal or otherwise — I want you to know two things: you're not the only one who's been here, and you're not finished. Whatever this season has taken from you, it hasn't taken your story. Let's go through it together.

Why Rise Again Coaching

I started this work out of a desire to walk with people navigating a life-altering neurological diagnosis — spinal cord injury, TBI, cerebral palsy, MS, stroke, and related conditions — helping them rebuild identity and purpose after the ground shifts under them. I know that ground shifting personally, more than once.

That mission has grown to include educators facing burnout and career-related hardship, with a particular place in my heart for special education teachers. I spent two years working as a special education teacher myself before I had to step away from full-time work again — and I've stayed connected to that world ever since, serving in special education classrooms whenever I can. I know firsthand the weight these educators carry: their own burnout, and daily proximity to the very neurological and physical challenges my other clients live with.

Through Rise Again Coaching, I combine lived experience, structured coaching tools, and faith-rooted resilience to guide people toward balanced growth — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I don't offer easy answers. I offer what I've actually lived: faith that's been tested, tools that actually work, and the kind of hope that only comes from having walked through the fire yourself.

What Guides This Work

These aren't just words on a wall. They're the convictions that shape every coaching conversation.

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Faith Before Fear

We lead with trust in God's plan, even when the path is unclear.

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Renewal Over Resignation

Giving up is easy. Rebuilding takes courage — and you have it.

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Structure Over Chaos

Sustainable growth needs a framework, not just feelings.

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Courage in Adversity

The hardest seasons often produce the deepest strength.

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Growth Through Action

Intentional steps forward — not perfection — build a new life.

Credentials & Experience

I bring both professional training and personal experience to every coaching relationship. This isn't theory — it's tested, lived, and refined through real adversity.

🎓 Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
🎓 Degree in Special Education
🏅 Certified Life Coach — Oola Mind & Body
🚀 Founder of Rise Again Coaching
📖 Author of Beyond the Chair
🎤 Disability Advocate & Speaker

The 5-Stage Framework

This is the order healing actually happens in — not the order we wish it did.

Grieve — Grieve what changed.
Ground — Ground yourself in what's still true.
Gather — Gather the people and tools you need.
Grow — Grow into who you're becoming.
Go — Go live it.

Choose Your Pathway

Choose the path that fits your season — and begin.

Rebuilding After Injury

For those navigating a Spinal Cord Injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or life-altering diagnoses.

Life Transitions

For those walking through burnout, unexpected change, or identity loss.

Educator Resilience

For teachers and leaders navigating exhaustion and purpose recalibration.

Faith-Centered Renewal

Coaching grounded in Christian conviction and spiritual growth.

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You're Not Weak. You're Rebuilding.

If your identity feels unsettled, if you're navigating something you weren't ready for — there's a next step waiting. Let's find it together.

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Or email Abe directly at riseagain@abebilodeau.com