Books Pertaining to Stroke and Brain Injury

Acknowledged a Man, by Barbara Del Buono, Allen Chatt, and Paul Hultmen
This story is about a 20-year-old man who suffered a brain injury and how his family fought to get the best care for him.

After Stroke: Enhancing Quality of Life, by Wallace Sife
This book offers advice and practical suggestions for stroke victims and is designed to help those who have suffered strokes attain the highest possible quality of life given their new physical restrictions.

Brain Repair, by Donald Stein
Informational book on the brain and how it functions, what happens when it is injured, theories on regeneration, repair and reorganization and the effect of age on recovery following traumatic brain injury.

Brain Injury and Stroke: A Handbook to Recovery, by Dr. E. A. Freeman
This is a handbook that offers simple and natural therapies. Contains practical step-by-step descriptions of the road to recovery with case studies.

Brain Storms: Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury, by John Cassidy

Children with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Parent's Guide, by Lisa Schoenbrodt
A handbook for parents of traumatically brain injured children. It provides information about brain injuries, common rehabilitation and medical issues, coping issues, how brain injury affects learning and thinking, behavior and speech, strategies for managing the child's behavior, educational needs and legal issues.

Chipper, by Gail Schmutz and Lorraine Thompson
A heartwarming story about a family's story of their experience raising a child with traumatic brain injury. It talks about the hardships including financial, emotional, social, and spiritual issues.

Coming Home: A Discharge Manual for Families of Persons with Brain Injury, by Dana S. DeBoskey PhD. HDI Publishers PO Box 131401, Houston, Texas 77219

Conquering the Darkness: One Woman's Story of Recovering from a Brain Injury, by Deborah Quinn
A story of a personal experience with traumatic brain injury and the recovery process.

Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, by Diane Roberts Stoler and Barbara Albers Hill
An informational book explaining mild traumatic brain injury, common physical and cognitive sequelae, emotional aspects, and the recovery process.

Crazy Visitation: A Chronical of Illness and Recovery, by Saundra Murray Nettles and Rafael Tamago
A personal story of a woman who had a large, undiagnosed brain tumor and her experience of getting diagnosed, tumor removal, and recovery. It is a story of both sickness and the long road to healing.

Cyclops Awakes: A Newspaperman Fights Back After a Massive Stroke, by John Mantle
This is a personal account of a newspaperman who suffered a massive stroke resulting in sudden incapacitation. It provides information from the author's caregivers and is a practical reference for any family dealing with stroke.

How to Conquer the World with One Hand and an Attitude, by Stephanie Mensh and Paul Berger
This book describes how much a person can achieve in the years after a disability and what life is really like when you have a severe disability.

I'll Carry the Fork! Recovering a Life After Brain Injury, by Kara L. Swanson
This book provides a meaningful glimpse into the life of someone who has been changed by brain injury. It gives new sensitivity to families and survivors affected by brain injury and offers humor, inspiration and practical help to anyone dealing with the aftermath of brain injury.

In Search of Wings - A Journey Back from Traumatic Brain Injury, by Beverly Bryant
A brain injury survivor writes this book about her personal experience with brain injury and how she has learned to cope.

Living With Brain Injury: A Guide for Families, by Richard Senelick and Karla Dougherty.
Contains updated information on brain injury to help families and professional understand the changes that occur as a result of brain injury. It describes brain injury and how different functions can be affected.

Living with Brain Injury: A Guide for Families and Caregivers, by Sonia Griffin Acorn

Living With Head Injury, by M.D. van den Broek. Manchester University Press, 5 th Ave. Room 400, New York , New Jersey 10010
Provides an accessible, non-technical explanation of causes of problems common after brain injury and provides advice on how to overcome them. Discusses compensation and the legal process. This book is intended for caregivers, families, survivors, therapists, and physicians.

Miracles Happen: One Mother, One Daughter, One Journey, by Brooke Ellison and Jean Ellison
An inspiring story about a young girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. It is a story about her life and accomplishments from being a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic to graduating from Harvard.

My Stroke of Luck, by Kirk Douglas
This is an inspirational story of the author's recovery after a massive stroke and how he battled through depression and back to acting.

My Year Off: Recovering Life After a Stroke, by Robert McCrum
Memoirs which chronicle the long process of recovering after having a stroke. It presents a detailed portrait of the physical and psychological effects of a stroke.

Navigating Through a Strange Land: A book for Brain Tumor Patients and Families, by Tricia Ann Roloff
This book includes both professional guidance information and moving personal stories of patients with brain tumors. It contains stories of hope and healing along with a resource directory.

One Handed in a Two-Handed World, by Tommy-Karen Mayer
This is a guidebook written by a survivor of a cerebral hemorrhage, which left the author paralyzed on the left. It describes ways to manage just about everything with one hand.

Over My Head: A Doctors' Account of Head Injury From the Inside Looking Out, by Claudia Osborn, PhD
Written by a physician who suffered a brain injury. This is her personal account of how the brain injury affected her personality and behavior. It provides inspiration and assists patients, families, friends and health professional understand and train patients in rehabilitation.

Parenting a Child with Traumatic Brain Injury, by Barry Hughes

Plant a Geranium in Your Cranium, by Barbara Johnson
Provides a humorous look at life following a brain tumor. It is an inspiring and funny story of the author's journey through a year of illness, frustration and chronicles her own experiences.

Return to Ithacca: A Woman's Triumph over the Disabilities of a Severe Stroke, by Barbara Newborn
This author suffered a severe stroke at age 21, which left her paralyzed and unable to talk. It is about her journey of rehabilitation and self-discovery and how she learned to live again.

Sexuality and the Person With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide to Families, by Ernest Griffith and Sally Lemberg. PO Box 131401 , Houston , Texas , 77219
Discussion about sexuality and the type of sexual dysfunctions possible in survivors of brain injury. It is written in lay language for survivors and families.

Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love, and Disability, by Bonnie Sherry Klein
This book chronicles the details of the physical and psychological aspects of recovering from a massive stroke.

Someone Stole Yesterday, by Helene Wright
This is a story of miraculous courage and recovery and how this survivor of traumatic brain injury recovered with the help of his family.

Starting Again: Early Rehabilitation After Traumatic Brain Injury or Other Severe Brain Lesions, by Patricia Davies

Students with Acquired Brain Injury: The School's Response, by Ann Glang
This is a practical handbook for working with children with acquired brain injury. It is designed for school professionals and describes the full range of issues facing students with traumatic brain injury. It presents innovative, proven strategies for improving the quality of school experiences for all children. Discusses hospital to school transitions, assessment strategies, behavior challenges, IEP's, and more.

That's Unacceptable: Surviving a Brain Tumor-My Personal Story, by Rebecca Libutti
This book is about how a brain tumor survivor reacted when she learned of her diagnosis, her choices for medical treatment, and dealing with her insurance company. She offers hope from a practical point of view and with humor.

The Brain Disorders Source Book, by Roger Cicala
A compassionate, thorough guide about brain diseases. It reviews the normal structure of the brain, medical tests for diagnosis, and provides an in-depth look at tumors, stroke and other neurologic brain diseases, such as meningitis, traumatic brain injury, Parkinsonism, and likely outcomes.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks
Written by a neurologist who explores a variety of neurological disorders through clinical tales describing interesting and unusual cases encountered during his years of medical practice.

The Stroke Recovery Book: A Guide for Patients and Families, by Kip Burkman, M.D
Written by a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist who summarizes the causes, complications and types of strokes and discusses recovery, rehabilitation and prevention.

Through My Head: Essays by a Brain Injury Survivor, by Bradley Fralick
This book contains essays written by a traumatic brain injury survivor of his experiences from the time of injury to several years later.

To Wherever Oceans Go, by Beverly Bryant
This book is written by a brain injury survivor about her personal experience with brain injury and how she has learned to cope.

Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Children and Adolescents, by Margaret Semrud-Clikeman

Where is the Mango Princess? by C. E. Crimmins
The author is a woman whose husband sustained a traumatic brain injury in a boating accident. The story is about their experiences of rehabilitation, and disability adjustment.

Working After Brain Injury- What Can I Do? by Dana DeBoskey PhD. PO Box 131401, Houston, Texas 77219

Books Pertaining to Spinal cord Injury

Access for Disabled Americans: A Guide for the Wheelchair Traveler, by Patricia Smitner
A step-by-step guide for planning a vacation for someone who uses a wheelchair. It discusses accessibility information on air travel, cruises, ground transportation and selecting a hotel. It includes questions to ask and solutions to problems that may arise.

Choosing a Wheelchair: A Guide for Optimal Independence, by Gary Karp
This is a guide to the selection process when choosing and purchasing a wheelchair. It describes the advantages and disadvantages of manual and power wheelchairs, types of cushions, seats, backs, and foot/armrests.

Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot, by John Callahan
Written by a nationally known cartoonist who was paralyzed in an auto accident. It reveals the tragic, inspiring and sometimes hilarious life of a quadriplegic. It is an uncensored account of Callahan's troubled and sometimes impossible life and is genuinely inspiring.

Life on Wheels, by Gary Karp
Written by a paraplegic, this author discusses medical issues of spinal cord injury, day to day living issues such as keeping fit, bowel and bladder care, sexuality, psychological and social issues. This book offers practical ways to adapt and optimize quality of life for those using a wheelchair.

Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, Declarations of Independence, by John Hockenberry
Written by a paraplegic who is a journalist and ABC correspondent, this author describes his experiences as a wheelchair user and unmasks the fear and ignorance underlying discrimination against the disabled. His stories describe the challenges he faces when traveling in the US and abroad.

Sexuality After Spinal Cord Injury: Answers to Your Questions, by Stanley Ducharme PhD and Kathleen Gill PhD
This handbook discusses practical information regarding spinal cord injury and sexuality while acknowledging different lifestyles, values and orientations.

Spinal Cord Injury: Functional Rehabilitation, by Martha Freeman Somers
This book provides a comprehensive look at rehabilitation of spinal cord injury. It contains brad knowledge relevant to SCI and develops an understanding of both physical skills required for functional activities and therapeutic strategies for achieving these skills.

Spinal Network, by Sam Maddox

Still Me, by Christopher Reeve
A heartbreaking, funny and hopeful story of the author's life after suffering a spinal cord injury from a horse riding accident. It describes the journey he has made, physically, emotionally, spiritually and explores his complex relationship with his parents, and his efforts to remain a devoted husband and father.

Nothing is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life, by Christopher Reeve
This is a sequel to Still Me , and is a concise account of his experiences living with a spinal cord injury. It discusses aspects of successful living with humor, faith and hope, and some major life issues such as parenting, religion and recovery.

The Dive From Clausen's Pier, by Ann Packer
This is a fictional story about a woman whose boyfriend has a spinal cord injury from a diving accident and how she copes with the changes. It is relevant for anyone dealing with a catastrophic change in their life as it is a sympathetic look at a woman who initially is unable to deal with this major life-changing event and the process by which she eventually comes to a better understanding of life.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Written by a former editor-in-chief of Elle magazine who suffered a rare stroke to the brain stem, which resulted in locked-in syndrome. He was only able to move his left eye, which he has learned to use to communicate with others.