Conservative commentator Dennis Prager, in his first detailed public account of a near-fatal accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, emphasized in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Thursday that his long-held views on pursuing happiness remain unchanged despite the life-altering event.
The 77-year-old radio host and PragerU co-founder described the November 12, 2024, fall at his home as “catastrophic,” occurring as he exited the shower and resulting in a severe spinal cord injury near the base of his skull at the C3 and C4 vertebrae. The impact damaged nerves controlling his diaphragm, initially cutting off his breathing and requiring ventilator support, while leaving him unable to move below his shoulders. Prager’s wife, Susan, who was nearby in their upstairs bedroom — an unusual occurrence at that time — witnessed the fall and called for help, preventing what could have been immediate death.
Official word of the accident came from PragerU the following day with requests for prayers and privacy.
Doctors initially recommended palliative care, expecting the injury to be fatal, but Prager regained consciousness and has since described his retained ability to speak as “miraculous,” a sentiment echoed by multiple physicians despite the lack of brain damage. He underwent spinal surgery shortly after hospitalization in Los Angeles and has been in rehabilitation, returning to his nationally syndicated radio show in June 2025 after months of recovery.
In the op-ed, titled “Mostly Paralyzed but Happy to Be Alive,” Prager tied the incident to themes from his 1998 book Happiness Is a Serious Problem, arguing that low expectations foster gratitude and that happiness must be actively pursued even in dire circumstances.
Prager, born August 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, to Orthodox Jewish parents Hilda and Max Prager, grew up in a family emphasizing Jewish education and values. He attended yeshivas through high school and earned a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College in 1970, majoring in history and Middle Eastern studies, before pursuing graduate work at Columbia University’s Russian and Middle East Institutes.
His career began 57 years ago in 1969 advocating for Soviet Jews, leading to roles as national spokesman for the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry and director of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute from 1976 to 1983. Prager transitioned to radio in 1982 with “Religion on the Line” on KABC in Los Angeles, evolving into the syndicated “The Dennis Prager Show,” heard on nearly 400 stations and focusing on politics, ethics, and culture. A former Democrat who shifted rightward, he co-authored The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism in 1975 with Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and founded PragerU in 2009 with Allen Estrin to produce short conservative-leaning videos.
“From the day I regained consciousness, I realized I had only three alternatives: death, depression or perseverance,” he wrote Thursday. “Since I don’t want to die and I don’t want to be depressed, my choice is obvious.”
“I will continue enjoying my family and friends, resume broadcasting, write books and columns and produce more PragerU videos,” he wrote.
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Christina Botteri is the Executive Editor of The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on X at @christinakb.
Photo “Dennis Prager” by Dennis Prager.
