A harrowing, visceral, and ultimately empowering journey into one family’s tragedy and a mother’s struggle to start over.
After her husband, Hugh, is hit by a car, 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 husband—who suffered a traumatic brain injury, necessitating the removal of half his skull—back home and back to himself. Then, as he slowly begins to reclaim his life, Rosemary falls apart.
She can’t sleep. Her heart pounds. Her joy and trust in the world dissolve into endless anxiety. She lays awake at night wondering how her marriage will survive. Will she ever be able to relate to Hugh again? What will become of their relationship? Their children? Do they recognize each other as the people they fell in love with and married decades ago? How can she let go of her fears? And what can she learn from them?
Learning by Accident is a caregiver’s story of loss, family love, and emotional healing. This compelling personal account demonstrates with heart and humor that what we fear can be more debilitating than any physical injury. And sometimes starting over is exactly what we need.
“A fast-paced, anecdotal blow-by-blow account of lost brain function, of rekindled love, medical genius, laughter and pain, of setbacks and redemptive renewal.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“This book will make you cry, laugh, give thanks, and believe in the power of love.” —Anne H. McDonnell, executive director, Brain Injury Association of America
