Over My Head: A Doctor's Account of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out Book

Locked inside a brain-injured head looking out at a challenging world is the premise of this extraordinary autobiography, which describes the rebuilding of a shattered self. Since the author's view is unique and often wacky, dispel the notion that this story is either somber or a medical diary of ailments. It is, in fact, quite entertaining.

Over My Head could be to traumatic brain injury what Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is to neurology, or The Cracker Factory is to alcoholism recovery. It is a triumphant story about coming to terms with profound loss and rebuilding a happy, productive life. It would be a compelling narrative for anyone who has faced a crisis or coped with grief; it should be a must-read for the rehabilitation professional or the family of a head-injury survivor.

The author, a 42-year-old doctor and clinical professor of medicine, describes the aftermath of a brain injury nine years ago that stripped her of her beloved profession and her livelihood, and for years deprived her of intellectual companionship and the ability to handle the simplest undertakings including reading a book, shopping for groceries, or sorting the mail.

Unable, and therefore unwilling, to recognize the severity of her injury, she attempts to return to her practice. In a harrowing hospital scene in which she is confronted by inconprehensible information and situations that rapidly spin out of her control, she finally realizes her need for help. She finds it when she is admitted into the prominent Head Trauma Program, a part of the New York University, Medical Center Rusk Institute.

Her progression from confusion, dysfunction, and alienation to a full, happy life is told with restraint, great style, and considerable humor. Scenes such as the great meltdown, her urology exam, her hilarious practice job, and a graduation luncheon at a Chinese restaurant with her rehabilitation peers will make you laugh out loud.

Just as powerful is the other side of her story--coming to grips with what she and her eleven fellow trainees lost and can never have back. Through their daily adventures and struggles, we learn the effect of scrambled neurons in that awesome computer called the brain.

In non-medical language, we are introduced to the process of rehabilitation and the techniques for coping with daily living. It is a story made all the more poignant because of the restraint in its telling, and the genuine absence of self-pity.

"A harrowing, humorous, and ultimately inspiring account of one woman's rehabilitative journey from a head injury that stripped her of what she loved, but made her stronger in ways she never imagined."