An essential and accessible resource for anyone who has experienced an acute neurological injury (ANI), including these three different types of injuries: spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and stroke, all of which share many of the same disabilities that respond to the same therapies and treatments.

It is unique in that it was written from the perspective of a doctor who is also a spinal cord injury-survivor. The author, Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. was left permanently paralyzed after a cycling accident. He is the founder and Director of the University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute.

Moving from initial injury through recovery to leading your best life, the book is packed with information that will allow patients and their families to have more meaningful and useful conversations with their clinicians and therapy team about how to face the serious and usually sudden challenges presented by ANI. Anyone who has tried to process the sometimes bewildering array of information presented in a consultation with a health care provider will appreciate the book’s comprehensive approach.

Dr. Berk challenges the discouraging and daunting prediction that the first twelve months after an ANI reveal the limits of a possible neurological recovery. However, he underscores the importance and urgency of immediately putting together a solid treatment plan for the year following the injury, particularly addressing mental health needs, because a sound mind is essential to a functional recovery.

Explanations of the physical aspects of ANI are presented clearly in layperson’s terms and accompanying diagrams/illustrations are helpful and easy to read. The book includes an extensive list of resources for further reading and reference.

Dr. Berk’s volume, which can be read in about half a day, will also be invaluable for family members, care givers, loved ones, and health care workers. It belongs in every public library and in every bookstore’s health and wellness section.

This inspiring, positive, candid, and empowering book offers great doses of hope and is a guide to “leading your best life as an ANI survivor”—including the possibility of restoring function.

Thank you to The Experiment and NetGalley for providing me early access to this important book in exchange for an honest review.