Raised largely by her grandparents, Gardot moved around a lot, often living out of suitcases. While biking in 2003 she was hit by a car and suffered serious head and spinal injuries; her pelvis was shattered in two places. She was confined to a hospital bed, on her back, for a year and slowly had to re-learn simple tasks such as brushing her teeth and walking. Today, the most noticeable effect of the neural injuries is that she is hyper-sensitive to both light and sound, requiring her to wear sunglasses at all times to shield her eyes. The accident also resulted in both long and short term memory problems and difficulty with her sense of time. Gardot says this challenge is “like climbing Mount Everest every day,” as she often wakes with no memory of what she has to do that day. The accident damaged the neural pathways between her brain’s cortexes which control perception and higher mental function making Gardot (in her own words) “a bit of a vegetable,” and making it hard for her to speak or communicate properly or recall the words she needs to express her feelings.

During her time in hospital Gardot first learned to hum and was eventually able to sing into a tape recorder. She made good progress and was able to write original songs that sometimes referred to her rehabilitation. She also learned how to play the guitar. For several years after the accident Gardot traveled with a physiotherapist and carried a machine strapped to her waist which released pain reducing impulses.

Buddhism has been, according to Gardot, an important factor in her recovery and she talks openly about her Buddhist beliefs.  She has said “to be truly Buddhist is to let everything go, your memory, your expectations.” Her Buddhist philosophy extends to her lifestyle and she has sold her flat in Philadelphia and given away her furniture and cat. Her only possessions fit in two suitcases which she takes on concert tours. Her hit album, My One and Only Thrill, was released in April 2009.