Salman Rushdie details the 27 seconds of the knife attack that nearly ended his life

Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie credits a series of "man-made miracles" for surviving the terrible wounds he suffered in a knife attack over a year and a half ago.

"There was a slash right the way across my neck here, but it didn't seem to cut the artery … there's three stab wounds down the centre of my torso, but they missed the heart," said Rushdie.

Had the knife plunged one millimetre further, it would have sliced past the optic nerve and caused brain damage, Rushdie told CBC Radio's The Current.

After a violent knife attack in 2022, author Salman Rushdie says learning to live with ‘that shadow’ of death has helped him to appreciate the ridiculous things in life.

Rushdie told The Current's Matt Galloway that at one point he wanted to meet with his alleged attacker, but says he has since changed his mind.

While Rushdie hasn't fully recovered his physical strength, he does feel that he's "bucked the odds" and been given a second chance at life.