Head Cases

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. As the mom of a TBI victim, it was an eye opening book. I felt a little disheartened by the grim reality presented by the author (he is a little gloomy .. ) but I think the book will inspire me to continue to be "a squeaky wheel" on my daughter's behalf. I have QUITE the head injury library at this point, and many are written by survivors or family members with or without the help of a "ghost writer" and i think this leads to some pretty questionable writing and some of them are really hard to get through. HEAD CASES is extremely well written, and was pleasure to read.

Mason opens our eyes to the realities of modern medicine, we learn that fixing the outside is often the simpler part of the equation. His insight & the passion he puts into each story makes for a captivating read. I walked away from this book realizing that unless we want to resign ourself to cities filed with "the walking dead" we must change the way society approaches Brain injury, this book is a call to arms, that's why I recommend you pass it along to friends & family-- or better yet have them buy their own & pass it on.

I was cringing all the way through this book, horrified at the accidents and the run-around that the injured get in our pathetic excuse for a health care system. Mason doesn't go too much into neuroscientific details, but focuses instead on how the injury has affected the injured, their lives and livelihood, their friends and family, and how they have learned or failed to learn to live with their deficits. Each chapter is a biography. Some are hopeful, all are illuminating. I hope this book helps to raise public awareness about what a desperate state we are in with regards to being able to provide cost-effective care and therapy for people with TBI. Hundreds of brain-injured soldiers are coming back from Iraq and will need help integrating back into society. Brookhaven Hospital in Tulsa, where the author is based, offers care that is tailored to the needs of each individual. No two brain injuries are the same and no two roads to recovery take the same route. This type of treatment needs to be available at more facilities, and it needs to be available to everybody who needs it, not just the wealthy. Read it, give it to a friend, wear a helmet.

This book was a very pleasant surprise and not at all what I had expected. Thinking, even fearing, that this book might be an intense or even arduous exegesis of the neuroscience of brain injury, I found instead a series of captivating and absorbing dramas that opened for me a door into the not-often-seen difficult lives, debilitating circumstances, damaged brains, and inspirational hearts and souls of a number of victims of brain injury. Mr. Mason, with the compassion and astute observation of a skilled case worker, relates story after story that are as captivating and inspiring as they are sobering and heartbreaking. I felt like I met, came to know, even empathized with and admired, the involuntary stars of each tragedy. I was introduced to their loved ones, learned about their pasts and hometowns, was shown in dreadful detail their horrible accidents, and exposed to the myriad obstacles and difficulties to which these amazing people and their families are exposed each day. I found myself cheering, with Mr. Mason, their victories, and joined him in a swelling admiration for their courage and spunk. Along with these compelling stories is the fascinating and fantastic journey upon which Mr. Mason took me - a rollercoaster ride into the "the brain injury capital of the world" at a remarkable hospital thirty miles north of Baghdad on the grounds of Balad Air Base. The picture Mr. Mason paints of the amazing skills of our military healthcare professionals in providing the best care in the world to brain injured military personnel, innocent civilians, or even enemy combatants, is as astonishing as it is wonderful. In short, this fascinating and well-written book will open to many readers a world that they hopefully will never experience, illuminate paths that prayerfully they and their families will not have to walk, while inspiring us to appreciate and admire the courage and valor of the incredible people who make up each of the amazing "head cases." Walt Larimore Co-Author, His Brain, Her Brain

I confess...I skip the health section of Time Magazine and Newsweek. It's just not my thing. So when I started reading Mason's book on brain injuries, I didn't think I'd make it very far. I was dead wrong. This book wraps the reader in human drama while delving into the mysterious world of head trauma. It is fascinating because it is not just about science, but about people. Head Cases is a great read -- not just for those into science and medicine, but for everyone.