Brain Injury Books
Below you will find some of the best brain injury books available today by survivors, caregivers, and members of the professional community. If you would like to recommend a book, please contact us with your suggestion.
Empowering Reads for Understanding, Coping, and Thriving After a Brain Injury.
Below you will find some of the best brain injury books available today by survivors, caregivers, and members of the professional community. If you would like to recommend a book, please contact us with your suggestion.
This 365-day meditation book is for anyone affected by brain injury! It offers daily guided thoughts of hope that can provide comfort and support as you navigate life after brain injury. Whether you're a brain injury survivor, caregiver, or family member, these daily readings are written with you in mind, and can help you feel uplifted and encouraged every step of the way.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries: 101 Stories of Hope, Healing, and Hard Work
Millions of people sustain a brain injury each year in the United States. Add to that the number of returning veterans with a brain injury and the numbers are staggering. The Brain Injury Survival Kit: 365 Tips, Tools & Tricks to Deal with Cognitive Function Loss aims to give brain injury survivors, their families, and loved ones the strategies they need to improve brain function and quality of life. The book is a compendium of tips, techniques, and life-task shortcuts.
An inspiring, interactive book and workbook to help brain injury survivors and caregivers navigate grief and loss, find their strengths and move forward with a changed life. As a brain injury survivor herself, author Carole Starr knows the depth of grief and loss of self that accompany brain injury, the challenge of coping with symptoms that are misunderstood by many and the peace that can come from accepting a new life and a new self.
At first glance, you might be tempted to think this is simply a book about recovering from a traumatic life experience, but it is so much more. A real-life tale with unexpected twists and turns, chance meetings that will inspire and amaze you, it is the story of true triumph and victory of the human spirit.It is a story about the ability to overcome insurmountable odds with dignity and tenacity and a splash of humor. Survivors and medical professionals alike will better understand what life is like after sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
After her husband, Hugh, is hit by a car while riding his bicycle, Rosemary Rawlins is plunged into twelve months of marathon caregiving, without the promise of a positive outcome. She works herself to the point of exhaustion to bring her grievously injured husband—who suffered a traumatic brain injury, necessitating the removal of half his skull—back home and back to himself.
In The Traumatized Brain, neuropsychiatrists Drs. Vani Rao and Sandeep Vaishnavi―experts in helping people heal after head trauma―explain how traumatic brain injury, whether mild, moderate, or severe, affects the brain. They advise readers on how emotional symptoms such as depression, anxiety, mania, and apathy can be treated; how behavioral symptoms such as psychosis, aggression, impulsivity, and sleep disturbances can be addressed; and how cognitive functions like attention, memory, executive functioning, and language can be improved.
Kelly Bouldin Darmofal suffered a severe TBI in 1992; currently she holds a Masters in Special Education from Salem College, NC. Her memoir Lost In My Mind: Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) tells her story of tragedy and triumph. Kelly will be teaching "TBI: An Overview for Educators" at Salem College. Kelly's "tips" were learned during two decades of recovery and perseverance.
Lost in My Mind is a stunning memoir describing Kelly Bouldin Darmofal's journey from adolescent girl to special education teacher, wife and mother -- despite severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Spanning three decades, Kelly's journey is unique in its focus on TBI education in America (or lack thereof). Kelly also abridges her mother's journals to describe forgotten experiences. She continues the narrative in her own humorous, poetic voice, describing a victim's relentless search for success, love, and acceptance -- while combating bureaucratic red tape, aphasia, bilateral hand impairment, and loss of memory.
Mild traumatic brain injury is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed problems in the United States today. Symptoms can mimic those of a stroke, depression, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Authors Stoler and Hill offer clear information on the different types of brain injury, as well as the treatment options available.
Part of the 5-star book series, Grief Diaries: Living with a Brain Injury features the journeys of men and women seeking to find hope and healing in the aftermath of acquired and traumatic brain injuries. Exploring the impact on daily life, the stories raise awareness and shed insight into life with a brain injury including sensory changes, social perceptions, the invisible challenges, emotional lability, and more.
This is the long-awaited 3rd Edition!! Long an industry standard, I'll Carry the Fork! Recovering a Life After Brain Injury, has helped countless survivors, loved ones and professionals in the traumatic brain injury/stroke community. Kara Swanson's journey is one to learn from, to cheer and, even, to laugh with along the way. Her honesty and willingness to share her struggles and triumphs have been changing the lives of survivors and their loved ones for more than 20 years.
Rebooting My Brain is the true story of what happens when you get yanked out of your life by a crisis -- and have to get back on the ride all over again. With refreshing candor, Maria Ross shares how the relentless pace of her life came to a screeching halt when an undetected brain aneurysm ruptured and nearly killed her. Along her stubborn road back to health, her resulting cognitive and emotional challenges forced her -- sometimes kicking and screaming -- to reframe her life, her work and her identity.
In 1999, Clark Elliott suffered a concussion when his car was rear-ended. Overnight his life changed from that of a rising professor with a research career in artificial intelligence to a humbled man struggling to get through a single day. Remarkably, Elliott kept detailed notes throughout his experience, from the moment of impact to the final stages of his recovery, astounding documentation that is the basis of this fascinating book. The Ghost in My Brain gives hope to the millions who suffer from head injuries each year, and provides a unique and informative window into the world’s most complex computational device: the human brain.
Abby Maslin shares an inspiring story of resilience and commitment in a deeply affecting new memoir. After her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury, the couple worked together as he recovered—and they learned to love again. At the heart of Abby and TC's unique and captivating story are the universal truths that bind us all. This is a tale of living and loving wholeheartedly, learning to heal after profound grief, and choosing joy in the wake of tragedy.
Locked inside a brain-injured head looking out at a challenging world is the premise of this extraordinary autobiography. Over My Head is an inspiring story of how one woman comes to terms with the loss of her identity and the courageous steps (and hilarious missteps) she takes while learning to rebuild her life. The author, a 45-year-old doctor and clinical professor of medicine, describes the aftermath of a brain injury eleven years ago which stripped her of her beloved profession. For years she was deprived of her intellectual companionship and the ability to handle the simplest undertakings like shopping for groceries or sorting the mail.
Losing your memory? Can't focus or concentrate? Do you have brain fog or tire easily? Have you lost your zest for life or motivation? Do people tell you this is all a normal part of aging? If so, your brain may be growing old too fast, or degenerating. Modern diets, a stressful lifestyle, and environmental toxins all take their toll on the brain. This doesn't just happen to seniors-brain disorders and degeneration are on the rise for young and old alike. The good news is the brain is extremely adaptable and wants to get well. You simply have to know how to feed and care for your brain.
This is the first book of its kind to include the personal accounts of people who have survived injury to the brain, along with professional therapists' reports of their progress through rehabilitation. The paintings and stories of survivors combine with experts' discussions of the theory and practice of brain injury rehabilitation to illustrate the ups and downs that survivors encounter in their journey from pre-injury status to insult and post-injury rehabilitation.
Brainlash provides the tools and facts to make the recovery process more intelligible-- and to support the wide range of people affected by MTBI. For patients, family members, physicians and other health care providers, attorneys, health insurance companies, employers and others, it covers options and services, health and vocational issues, medicolegal topics, psychological and emotional implications, and more!
This is the follow-up book to TBI Hell, which was published in 2006. The author, Geo Gosling talks about life 14 years after sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury. Few, if any, books regarding brain injuries give a perspective of what life may be like 14 years after suffering a brain injury, this one does. It is a male's perspective who received a TBI at age 25 and is now 39 years old. It is also rather humorous in spots, as humor is, in Geo's opinion, the best way to deal with what life is like after suffering a TBI.
In this groundbreaking book, tbi survivor advocate Sue Hultberg explores the lives, struggles, and issues of people with traumatic and other acquired brain injuries. She examines the origins of the acquired brain injury human and civil rights movement, and she presents an analysis of the key policy and priority agenda for people with brain injuries. She describes how individuals with brain injuries set out to engage in independent policy advocacy at the all-survivor Brain Injury Network. She also singles out some of the advocacy-related work of several dozen other brain injury survivors who work, write, or volunteer in and for the brain injury survivor community.
First shocked with horror and despair after her son's traumatic brain injury, Dixie Fremont-Smith Coskie and her family grow to find hope, healing, and even greater love. Dixie's narrative of how she came to appreciate the simplest of things-when her son is able to blink his eyelids, lift his finger, utter a word-is powerfully moving. It will bring you into a realm where body, mind, and spirit are pushed to their limits. UNTHINKABLE is about perseverance, filled with universal lessons of struggle and triumph. Dixie follows each chapter of the harrowing journey with vital insights to assist others through their tragedies.
For years, Elizabeth Peirce struggled to put her life back together after a concussion. She searched for stories of real people recovering from head injuries and came up empty. This experience prompted her to write a book that would help others. Interwoven are the stories and voices of other concussion survivors and the health professionals who treat them. Combining five years of research and her own personal experience of this debilitating injury, this book recognizes and honours the mysteries of the brain and the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
An astonishing new science called "neuroplasticity" is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, The Brain That Changes Itself will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.
The New York Times–bestselling author of The Brain That Changes Itself presents astounding advances in the treatment of brain injury and illness. Now in an updated and expanded paperback edition.
Winner of the 2015 Gold Nautilus Book Award in Science & Cosmology
In his groundbreaking work The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge introduced readers to neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change its own structure and function in response to activity and mental experience. Now his revolutionary new book shows how the amazing process of neuroplastic healing really works. The Brain’s Way of Healing describes natural, noninvasive avenues into the brain provided by the energy around us—in light, sound, vibration, and movement—that can awaken the brain’s own healing capacities without producing unpleasant side effects.
Daniel Amen, M.D., one of the world’s foremost authorities on the brain, has news for you: your brain is involved in everything you do—learn to care for it properly, and you will be smarter, healthier, and happier in as little as 15 days!
You probably run, lift weights, or do yoga to keep your body in great shape; you put on sunscreen and lotions to protect your skin; but chances are you simply ignore your brain and trust it to do its job. People unknowingly endanger or injure their brains, stress them by working at a frenzied pace and not getting enough sleep, pollute them with caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, and deprive them of proper nutrients. Brain dysfunction is the number one reason people fail at school, work, and relationships. The brain is the organ of learning, working, and loving—the supercomputer that runs our lives. It’s very simple: when our brains work right, we work right—and when our brains have trouble, we have trouble in our lives.
After a near-fatal car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury and a multitude of internal injuries, Sharon found - once she came out of her coma - that at the age of twenty-three, she needed to learn to walk, to speak, to listen, even to think...all over again. Already an acknowledged social introvert before her accident, Sharon soon discovered that it was too hard for people to look at her and hear her stumbling speech - reminders of the horrible difficulties she was enduring.
Tearing Down the Wall is the moving and remarkable story of Sharon's re-learning every detail of how to live her life from day to day and of her relentless journey to once again find her place in the world, both socially and professionally.
A Beautiful Catastrophe will give you honest expressions of one man's tireless journey from catastrophic life changes and pain to the welcome healing and love of a spiritual transformation.
Children may be confused when they have a parent with a disability and especially a disabling brain injury. They may blame themselves for the parent being in pain or not understand why their home acts differently. This is a children's book about a little girl bunny who is telling her little baby sister bunny about their daddy bunny who has a brain injury and can't remember. It is a touching story of how the daddy may be different than other daddy's but how he loves his children.
Just minutes before my husband found me passed out, covered in my own vomit,
anyone would have believed I was perfectly healthy...including me. What I didn't
know was that, since birth, a tumour had been growing in my brain, waiting for
2015 before it would make its shocking, and nearly deadly, presence known.
What followed were months of brain surgeries, radiotherapy, and multiple scares as
the doctors raced a tumour that had been left unchecked to grow for thirty-six
years. Healing involved more than the medical miracles I experienced. In fact,
healing is still a process I must tackle every day.
Paul McMonagle was a student at Auburn in the spring of 2000 when about two weeks before finals, he suffered an excruciating headache while watching a movie with his girlfriend. He stood up, threw up from the pressure, and passed out. For the next two years, he only remembers snapshots of his life. Paramedics from the local hospital in Opelika, Alabama, transported him to East Alabama Medical Center after determining he had suffered a traumatic brain injury from a rupture of a genetic anomaly called an arteriovenous malformation or AVM. In this book, he shares his inspiring story of what he's learned living with such a brain injury.
This book tells the story of Michael Arthur, who had recently accepted a position as vice principal of a new high school. After only two weeks on the job, he was involved in a car accident whilst driving through an intersection in northern Utah. Through his personal account, he takes the reader into the dark interworking of his mind as he tries to cope with his new reality. He provides insight into how he learnt how to process information and even speak without stumbling on his words while also sharing how his significant relationships suffered as he tried to navigate the restless seas of doubt while trying to circumvent his unyielding symptoms.
Written by a brain injury survivor, Macbeth’s Spinners is a love story. And like most love stories, things surrounding the lovers can both influence and be influenced by the lovers and their emotions. You know the fallout that can happen among friends when a couple has a spat in the real world. Now imagine if they were gods? Imagine if the lovers had the ability to influence time and fold the land and sea, and steer the course of a nation’s history? What if Macbeth was guided to become king not by three elderly witches — but by the Three Fates of Greek Mythos that were transformed into a single woman of remarkable power?
Emma takes the reader on a journey down the ski hill, where she collides with two bunnies. After the accident, they share an important message with her about wearing a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. Emma’s Skiing Adventure weaves a short yet compelling story, mixed with a bit of humor, make this message approachable for young children and their caregivers. The annual incidence of traumatic brain injury is conservatively estimated at up to 600 out of every 100,000 people in North America and Europe, with those five years and younger being at an increased risk. Emma’s Skiing Adventure will open the channel of communication between children and parents on how everyone can take simple steps to be safe.
Includes helpful tips on using helmets properly
Imagine parents with two young children, the husband recently laid off, saddled with a mortgage on a brand-new house, when the family's minivan is hit and forced through an intersection by a reckless driver. Their lives are altered forever, but the family commits to each other through various hardships over fifteen years, encouraged when a pediatric neurologist calls their three-year-old daughter "the Miracle Child."
In The Miracle Child: Traumatic Brain Injury and Me, Kelly and Michael Lang share their alternating and unique thoughts over the days and years following the tragic car incident that fractured their family and their lives, revealing the power of persistence, faith, acceptance, and above all, the commitment of family.
This is a comprehensive, sensitive, insightful and thorough workbook available and is filled with hands on practical strategies aimed at helping the person with a brain injury navigate the complexities of daily life. By focusing on the cognitive changes that are so common after a traumatic brain injury, the author approaches each challenge with practical building blocks and strategies for continued rehabilitation at home and in the community. Her philosophy of problem solving and thinking about “how” to do something when a challenge is encountered is a continuous theme through all the chapters.
Donna called 9-1-1. David slipped into a coma. At that moment, Donna was thrust onto the path of caregiver for her best friend and the love of her life. In her debut memoir, Donna shares how a neurosurgeon said that David would make a "great organ donor." She writes of arrogant doctors, uncaring visitors, insensitive ambulance drivers, and problematic nurses.
She also tells of the many compassionate doctors, nurses, therapists, staff, strangers, family members, and friends who helped them on their journey. Donna compellingly describes her ability to appear positive as she experiences the horror of making life-or-death decisions. As her world crashes, she credits laughter as her lifesaver. More than 13 years later, Donna and David are living a "new normal" together.
In 2008, Bridgid suffered severe traumatic brain injury following a bicycle accident. Her life resumed as if she were a three-year-old having to relearn many of the life skills that she lost as a result of her injury. This story chronicles her journey - waxing and waning - towards healing.
A family comes together in the wake of tragedy in Paul J. Mulhern’s powerful memoir of a love that knows no bounds.
It was a beautiful summer day when three-year-old Shannon was hit by an SUV and thrown forty feet in the air. Despite heroic attempts of medical professionals on the scene and at the hospital, Shannon fell into a coma. With skull fractures and brain swelling and bleeding, Shannon’s prognosis was bleak. But even on the darkest days, her parents believed in Shannon’s smallest victories.
Throughout Shannon’s time in a coma, various hospitals, rehab, and eventual return to normal life, this story of miraculous recovery proves that celebrating step-by-step progress and commitment to healing can bring about the impossible.
Saving Shannon is an uplifting memoir of a family’s collective healing and an illustration of how a family copes with a child’s traumatic brain injury. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware.
This book is about a journey that I went on into the catacombs of being in a hospital with a brain injury. This book is all based on true events that happened to me. Doing a journey like this has certainly changed me for the better at the end of the day I believe. There is just something about having a traumatic event happen to you, it changes you ultimately for the better.
A continuation of the Joseph Reidy's first book, My Nightmare...and How I Woke from it, detailing his recovery process from a severe traumatic brain injury. The author describes the many therapies he's participated in as well as some insight into the mental work it takes.