Mary and Michael have teamed up and written poems on Michael’s recovery from traumatic brain injury and their relationship through it. They worked 3 years to complete their second book titled Musing with Mary and Michael.

Genie Zorbas had a severe brain injury as a child when she was struck by a car at age 6. Physical and cognitive disabilities made everything in her life more difficult while she was growing up. It was hard for her to keep up in school. Classmates and friends teased her because she looked different and had a hard time learning.

Despite these challenges, she has learned how to live life fully and is now a young adult. She has written a short fiction story based on her personal life that explores the question of many survivors ask, “If I had not had a brain injury…how would my life be different?”

Angie Machovec survived a traumatic brain injury on her last day of high school when she was 17. Struck by a car when she crossed the street to go home, it was like any other day. But her world completely changed at that moment. She was in a coma for about a month, spent 3 weeks in rehabilitation, was discharged home and then had out patient rehabilitation.

She wrote these poems in summer 2002 while in a creative writing course. Writing poetry after her brain injury helped her understand her emotions and accept what had happened in her life.

The loss of speech can feel devastating to the survivor of a brain injury. Katherine Kimes writes about the frustration, persistence and sheer effort required as she learned how to speak and communicate again by forming syllables and words one by one after the car crash that resulted in her brain injury.

She is now an eloquent writer and uses language to express the emotional turmoil that accompanied her communication impairment.

I had a Brain Injury due to Acute Spinal Meningitis. I was in a coma for over 56 hours and found out about Brain Injury three years ago! I was upset and decided to write poems to express myself and my inner emotions. Writing poetry has helped to relieve the anger from inside me.
I used the “White Dove” symbol because I have a lot of high spirits and want to share my feelings with people. I want to let them know not to give up, but get involved with our communities so people are aware there are ways to cope with Brain Injury.
Many of us want to be our old selves again but Brain Injury will not let us! We have encouragement and many things we can share with others with Brain Injury. We should care for and support each other.

Surviving a traumatic brain injury gave Jason Ferguson a new outlook on life. Writing poetry about his survival helps him rebuild his life and face new challenges. Despite the losses and changes in his life after his brain injury, he is thankful that he did not die. Giving thanks to have survived his injury has given new meaning to his life as he finds new beginnings and new adjustments each day.

Using poetry to express the emotional trauma that followed her traumatic brain injury, Vicki Sue Parker expresses the pain and loss in her life. Having survived her brain trauma, she writes about the change in her self-image and the loss of her identity as she reshaped her understanding of her new self and her altered abilities.

Poetry expresses the emotions, pain, loss and anguish that followed her traumatic brain injury as Vicki Sue Parker reveals the changes and contradictions in her life. Having survived her brain trauma, she finds that many do not recognize the less visible cognitive disabilities that come with changes in thinking, learning, and problem solving. Her brain injury is not like a broken bone. Friends can’t see it so they have difficulty understanding that her brain has been injured.

A traumatic brain injury alters the relationship between husband and wife.
Filled with the excitement and joy of her new marriage, becoming injured and disabled was the last thing Vicki Sue Parker expected. Her poetry expresses the anguish of lost dreams and promises with the void of coma and the despair of recovery. Having survived, she has a second chance to build a new but different life.

The loss of her sense of self and identity after her traumatic brain injury leaves Vicki Sue Parker feeling alone and confused. This poem by a brain injury survivor expresses the emptiness, loss and anguish of brain injury that only survivors can understand. It shows how enormous the losses are for survivors of brain injury as they struggle to rebuild their sense of self.