Intriguing Book of Poetry Published by a Brain Injury Survivor

Gray Matters, Brain Injury: The Inside Perspective is a book filled with poetic insights of a woman who lived through a near-fatal brain injury.  Her intimate knowledge and sense of humor can help survivors cope, as well as better understand their injuries and themselves.  This book gives a personal sense or Inside Perspective of brain injury, thus enabling readers to better understand brain injury survivors.

Brain injury occurs around the world in a variety of circumstances; in sports events, motor-vehicle accidents, terrorist attacks & war (and the list goes on)...  According to the International Brain Injury Association, head injury is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.  Thirty percent of the soldiers that have returned from Iraq and are returning from Afghanistan have Traumatic Brain Injuries; more than two percent of the United States' population has sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury.  Even with brain injury being so widespread, it is still hard to identify people living with the complications of this “invisible disability.”

Ms. Lerner knows that the lack of awareness regarding brain injury makes survivors’ lives quite problematic.  Writing Gray Matters was aimed at easing the integration of survivors back into the community.  With a creative flair, she informs her readers about brain injury; she strikes a chord by sharing personal changes, loss and challenges, thus giving readers a sense of what it is like to walk in the shoes of a brain injury survivor. The chapters of the book cover topics including: brain injury, the symptoms of injury, rehabilitation, the brain, academic rehab, recreational therapy (including nature & the ocean's healing influence) and brain injury peer support.

This book will considerably help brain injury survivors to better understand their injury and themselves, it will also aid them by being better understood by others.  Gray Matters has helped family members and friends to better understand their loved ones.  This book can also be a great asset to rehab professionals, by giving them a more intimate understanding of the dilemmas of a brain injury; for only when you know what an individual’s problem is, can you treat it.

Gray Matters offers an articulate, introspective and sometimes humorous view of what it is like to suffer a near-fatal blow to the head and live with its complications. The author presents a thorough, subjective viewpoint as well as a professional and objective understanding of brain injury. Gray Matters presents a deeper understanding of the inner-workings of the mind and how in many ways, brain injury effects life as we know it.

Disclosure

I am writing this just for you,

Because I intend to give you a clue,

My poetry comes from my own inner construct,

I give you markings so you can at least draw dot to dot,

I want to personally disclose this to you,

Because I want you to better understand what I speak to,

I’ve been through some life experiences that do awaken,

Well, I’ve had my nagen shaken,

That is a Traumatic Brain Injury,

And I want you to discern what it does to me,

Cerebral bruising, tearing, bleeding & swelling,

Not just mental impairments, there’s much more to be telling,

I’ll translate this into real life,

So you can understand my neurological strife,

I want you to better see,

So you can more competently talk with someone like me,

Perhaps, for me it is quite healing,

For others to have more of this feeling,

I’m not going to be playing the cosmic trickster,

I want to point you to the holistic picture,

I’m going to communicate what I can,

So people with brain injuries you can better understand,

I talk straight from the heart in my chatter,

I say this to you, because GRAY MATTERS!

In 1989, Heidi Lerner sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury in a car accident. After the most significant portion of her rehabilitation, though still struggling with cognitive and psychosocial impairments, she earned her masters degree in Special Education, specifically for survivors of brain injury. Presently, Heidi facilitates Gray Matters support groups at Scripps Hospital in Southern California, for people in the community living with brain injury.

In her poetry, Heidi Lerner offers an introspective and sometimes humorous view of what it is like to suffer a near-fatal blow to the head and live with it’s complications. With a creative flair, Ms. Lerner both educates and strikes a chord, sharing struggles with personal changes, loss, and challenges as well as ways that she’s found that help her to get by.

Heidi is happiest living beside the ocean, as this is where she finds the greatest peace of mind and creative inspiration, as well as time for surf kayaking. She believes that health and movement are the optimal means of restoring the body to it’s best condition and promoting holistic rehabilitation; she teaches Pilates exercise, specializing in working with senior citizens and those with mild disabilities. Ms. Lerner also works as an independent BIOPRO consultant, helping to prevent people from acquiring cognitive deficits through the effects of electrical pollution.