John B. Grimes is an author, speaker, meningitis survivor, advocate, and nonprofit leader whose work centers on resilience, disability, purpose, and what happens after life refuses to follow the plan.

At nineteen, John survived bacterial meningitis after eight days in a coma. He woke to profound vision loss, neurological complications, and a future that looked nothing like the one he had imagined. Rebuilding his life required learning to navigate disability, independence, work, relationships, and identity in entirely new ways.
Those experiences became the foundation for his memoir, Destiny Is Debatable, and the Destiny Is Debatable Podcast, which he hosts and produces. John is also Executive Director & Co-Founder of Shots 4 Meningitis, where he works to increase meningitis awareness and prevention while bringing the survivor perspective into the conversation.

Across his writing, speaking, podcasting, and advocacy, John explores resilience without platitudes, adaptation without pretending loss doesn't matter, and the choices that shape a meaningful life after circumstances change it. His guiding belief is simple: survival isn't the end of the journey—it’s just the beginning.