Journey to Well: Learning to Live after Spinal Cord Injury

We really like this book! The author, Margie Williams, suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the age of 53, just when she was making plans for the rest of her life. She presents a close-up view of what life is like during and after such an incident, including her experience with institutional medicine and insurance companies (for better and for worse), and her determined -- and ultimately successful -- effort to rehabilitate herself and reconstruct her life. Journey To Well is well-written, funny in some parts and heart-rending in others, but completely absorbing throughout. The comprehensive Resource Guide included in the Appendix is itself well worth the price of the book for those dealing with spinal cord injuries as patients or as caregivers. Everyone's experience with spinal cord injury is different, and this is indeed a subjective view. But the manner in which Margie Williams responded to and grew from her experiences has applications for everyone. We would therefore enthusiastically recommend Journey To Well not only to those who have experienced spinal cord injury, but also to those who have not. The world of those who must live the rest of their lives on wheels is quite different than the "two-legged" world. The more we understand the similarities as well as the differences between the two, the better we will be as individuals and as a caring society.

I am an Occupational Therapist who works with persons with spinal cord injuries. I found this book to be very helpful in describing what it's like to have a SCI from the victim's point of view. Her story doesn't put on a glossy finish, and that's good, because it isn't a fun experience. I have given it to students to read to gain a better perspective on the impact of a SCI on an individual and the family. I would recommend this book if you want to read an account of one person's struggle through hospitalization, rehab and life at home.