antidietleah's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting account but it left me wanting. I didn't love her voice, what we did get off it. I wanted more from her, emotionally. I didn't feel wholly connected to the recovery story.
katiekat1357's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Had to read this for class and WOW a must read to understand TBI
lmattes's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a unique look into the world of the spouse of a person with a brain injury. The book accurately describes much of the medicine that accompanies a brain injury in addition to the more social aspects. I loved it.
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, and doubly so for the sense of limbo that prevails. The book was published in 2000, but much of it was written earlier, when her husband was just three or so years out and still adjusting -- so it's hard to know how much more he improved, or has improved, since then, or what lasting effects it had on the people around him.
The author died in 2009 following complications from surgery, but some quick poking on the internet leads me to believe that -- perhaps not surprising, but a reminder that the end of the book was hardly the end of the story.
In as much as this is a book structured around recovery from traumatic brain injury, the content is not so much about that recovery as it is about dealing with it as a caretaker -- it's hard to know how much Alan has changed without being there or seeing more pre-accident scenes, but we can see how hard it is on everyone around him. (How hard for Kelly, in particular -- old enough to be in the fray of it; young enough to have very few defenses and recourses.)
The author died in 2009 following complications from surgery, but some quick poking on the internet leads me to believe that
Spoiler
she and her husband divorced at some point in the nine years following the book's publicationIn as much as this is a book structured around recovery from traumatic brain injury, the content is not so much about that recovery as it is about dealing with it as a caretaker -- it's hard to know how much Alan has changed without being there or seeing more pre-accident scenes, but we can see how hard it is on everyone around him. (How hard for Kelly, in particular -- old enough to be in the fray of it; young enough to have very few defenses and recourses.)
stepgg's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for this book after reading the review but didn't care for the book at all. something about the author or her writing rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not sure if it's her bold blanket sure statements (one line was something about all neurosurgeons being Macho n needing to fix everything) or her little medical errors (bagging is not putting a tube down the throat n using a bag to force air, just refers to using an ambubag, nothing to do with the tube) but I just didn't care for her writing....
haleymaxinee's review against another edition
5.0
I didn’t expect to love this book or relate to it so deeply.
I used to work in health care and I’ve also spent more than enough time in the hospital as a patient. This includes the ICU, Neuro unit, and inpatient rehab. All of the places that Al has to endure, I have also. My personal experience with neurological disorders made this a very special read.
While I haven’t always had to directly handle the insurance circumstances and tasks, I know that they can be a bitch, a huge obstacle while trying to deal with a life changing event. I like that she made sure to represent her struggle with insurance companies and their cooperation throughout this novel.
I mainly picked up this book to get the perspective of the caregiver and family members of patients who are dealing with neurological disorders/deficits. I found it endlessly fascinating to get both a caregiver’s and a patient’s perspective on this situation. I learned more about behavior than I knew before. I was able to recognize things from Al that I’ve seen either in myself or during my time working in health care.
I loved Cathy and her sense of humor. She takes no shit from anyone who gets in her way and she doesn’t sugar coat the situations they face. Which I appreciate.
Very important read to me ❤️
I used to work in health care and I’ve also spent more than enough time in the hospital as a patient. This includes the ICU, Neuro unit, and inpatient rehab. All of the places that Al has to endure, I have also. My personal experience with neurological disorders made this a very special read.
While I haven’t always had to directly handle the insurance circumstances and tasks, I know that they can be a bitch, a huge obstacle while trying to deal with a life changing event. I like that she made sure to represent her struggle with insurance companies and their cooperation throughout this novel.
I mainly picked up this book to get the perspective of the caregiver and family members of patients who are dealing with neurological disorders/deficits. I found it endlessly fascinating to get both a caregiver’s and a patient’s perspective on this situation. I learned more about behavior than I knew before. I was able to recognize things from Al that I’ve seen either in myself or during my time working in health care.
I loved Cathy and her sense of humor. She takes no shit from anyone who gets in her way and she doesn’t sugar coat the situations they face. Which I appreciate.
Very important read to me ❤️