A respected medical professional, family man, and keen athlete, Andrew
Tillyard had a full and active life until a vehicle crash changed it
all. He sustained a serious head injury and was airlifted to the
hospital where he worked, having only just survived. In this book, he
recounts the raw, uncompromising struggles he faced to rebuild his life.
Drawing from regular blog entries written throughout his rehabilitation,
Andrew provides an authentic reflection of the lived experience at some
of the key stages along the road to recovery, from pragmatic concerns
about new daily difficulties to wider concerns about his new place in
life. He highlights the specific challenges and support he encountered
as a person with a medical background who finds themselves in a
healthcare system as a patient. With frank honesty, he takes readers
beyond the simple message that things can and do improve, by
demonstrating that negativity, bitterness, and occasional rage are all
necessary parts of the journey. However, he also describes the many
little victories that helped him keep battling on, knowing there is
always hope for the future. In particular, he narrates how he learnt to
do things the doctors said he would never do: walking, reading, running,
and ultimately writing this book. With the perspective of ten years
since his injury, the book also charts a longer-term view of the ebb and
flow of recovery.
This is essential reading for neuropsychologists, neurologists, and
other rehabilitation therapists, as well as students in medicine,
nursing, allied health, and neuropsychology. This is also a compelling
and compassionate story for anyone who has survived a brain injury, who
feels - as Andrew did at times - that life might not be worth living
anymore, as it can show that there is always hope for the future.
