A great book to help us all!
 

On a previous thread, someone mentioned this book to help understand and cope with dealing with our traumatic brain injury. Im about half way through and it has been such a great help understanding that what is happening is normal and what we can do to help get the best care and tricks to deal with limitations. Thank you to whoever mentioned it and getting me to read it! (takes a little while when you can only do reading it spurts...but worth it!)

Coping with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. A guide to living with the challenges associated with Concussion/brain injury.
By Diane Roberts Stoler and Barbara Albers Hill.

Another book that I found helpful when dealing with my daughter's concussion was: Brainlash: Maximize Your Recovery from Mild Brain Injury by Gail L. Denton PhD. I even ordered extra copies for a few of my daughter's providers that just didn't seem to "get" it.

I also liked: Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out by Claudia Osborn

I have all three books - have yet to read Over My Head.

I liked Coping with MTBI but wish there was a 2011 edition with more up-to-date medical info.

Diane Stoler has outdated medical information because she does not put much value in medical information. In my opinion, she looks at mTBI and PCS from a psychological perspective with some uninformed medical perspectives. She has lots of generic information but I think she fails with the specifics of mTBI and PCS that the true experts have discovered.

Her web site does not have any real newer medical information. Considering the information that was available in 1998, and there was plenty just not widely distributed, I doubt she will update even now.

What she is good at is report writing. It is as if she is doing research and writing a report for a school class. Then she adds her own experiences from her own life and a bit from her counseling business.

It would be great if she did some more thorough research by reading the medical journals.

btw, I read her book in 2001. For the price, it is OK but I like the book edited by Nils Varney, Evaluation and Treatment of MTBI. It is more clinical but is based on medical and psychology journal articles. There is also a good affordable book by Dorothy Gronwall. I wish I had her more expensive book.

thanks for the heads up on that book by nils varney, mark. it looks like a great read. i just previewed it off google

Good to hear the negatives of the book as well.

I only want to read one (even one is a bit of effort).

So if I were to pick just one- get Brainlash?

Thanks for any tips.

I think it makes more sense to get a few books and look for the sections that are most relevant to you. There doesn't seem to be one catch-all book out there. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Coping with MTBI and Brainlash seem to be the ones people turn to the most, but the books Mark mentioned may be as useful or better. Hopefully someone comes out with a more complete, current and practical book in the near future.