From Tragedy to Triumph: Journey Back From The Edge by Jessica Taylor-Graham
Exclusive Book Review
Jessica Taylor has created a wonderful and inspiring new book which has not yet been released onto the market. She kindly agreed to let Headway read and review her book before its release date to inspire and inform other people who have been touched by brain injury.
The book starts with details of Jessica’s life before the injury as a wife, mother and business woman. She describes the huge changes to her personality from an inhibited person to a sometimes outrageous and flamboyant person with little comprehension to the social constraints that surrounded her. Her story describes the immediate effects of the accident after she fell down a steep flight of stairs in which she recalled nobody that had been in her life. Her husband and children became strangers to her and as a result of her injury her marital relationship deteriorated.
Jessica’s experiences led her to the conclusion that it is not only the person injured who suffers, but family and friends as well. One chapter in the book describes her husband’s experience of coping with his wife in intensive care and coping with giving up his job and the resulting financial difficulties. She also describes the effect of her injury on her two young daughters.
Jessica strongly advocates for people affected by brain injury and believes that better rehabilitative care is required for the recovery process. She says that “It is time for these forgotten people, the head and brain injured, to be acknowledged by the rest of the world, recognized as equals, with views that need to be expressed and needs that must be met. They can play an important role in society and they deserve to be treated with more respect so that they do not have to live a life of confusion, frustration, depression, anxiety and feelings of inadequacy.”
This book follows the winding and difficult path of someone learning to find themselves after a brain injury. Jessica feels that she has lived two lives and also has lived through supernatural and spiritual experiences. This is a fascinating and emotional read which will allow anyone to see what it is like to live with a brain injury.
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